Flatware is the forks, knives, and spoons you use to eat your meals. When you set the table for dinner, you're laying out the flatware.

Most flatware today is made of stainless steel, though fancy flatware might be silver or silver-plated. Each piece has a specific job: forks stab and scoop, knives cut, and spoons carry liquids or soft foods. Many flatware sets include specialized pieces like salad forks (smaller than dinner forks) or soup spoons (rounder and deeper than regular spoons).

The word can be confusing because people also call flatware silverware (even when it's not actually made of silver) or cutlery (which technically means cutting tools, but many people use it to mean all eating utensils). In Britain, people often say cutlery instead of flatware.

Next time you're helping set the table, you'll know that all those forks, knives, and spoons you're carrying have an official name: flatware.