A heavy, flat piece of rolled metal, typically steel or aluminum, used in heavy fabrication and structural construction. In industrial standards, flat metal crosses the threshold from sheet to plate when it exceeds a certain thickness, usually around a quarter of an inch or six millimeters. It requires heavy machinery to cut, bend, and weld.
Heard on the job
The forklift chassis needs a half-inch steel plate welded to the bottom for extra counterweight.