A platter is a large, flat dish used for serving food, especially at meals where everyone shares from the same dishes. Picture a big oval plate piled with sliced turkey at Thanksgiving, or a round tray loaded with cookies at a party. Platters are bigger than regular dinner plates because they're meant to hold food for multiple people, not just one person's meal.

At a restaurant, you might order a seafood platter with shrimp, fish, and crab legs all arranged on one big plate, or a cheese and fruit platter for an appetizer. At home, your family might serve sandwiches on a platter so everyone can grab one.

In older times, wealthy families served meals on silver platters, which became associated with luxury and ease. That's why people say something was “handed to them on a silver platter” when they got something good without having to work for it. If your older sister complains that you got a later bedtime without arguing for it like she had to, she might say it was handed to you on a silver platter.