Place settings within a dishwasher means the capacity of your dishwasher and how many settings it is designed to hold comfortably, enabling a thorough and efficient clean. For example 12 place settings, means you can fit 12 dinner plates, 12 soup bowls, 12 tea cups & saucers, 12 dessert plates, 12 tumblers and 12 individual knives, forks, soup spoons, dessert spoons and tea spoons. The higher the place setting the more you can fit in.