Word: platform Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle French plateforme (“a flat form”), from plate (“flat”) (from Old French plat, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “flat”)) + forme (“form”) (from Latin fōrma (“shape; figure; form”)); compare flatscape. Pronunciation: /ˈplætfɔːm/, /ˈplɑtfɔːm/, /ˈplætfɔɹm/ 1. A raised stage from which speeches are made and on which musical and other performances are made. Example: Always, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, as in private conversation, there is an absolute simplicity about the man and his words; a simplicity, an earnestness, a complete honesty. Example: “[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. 2. A raised floor for any purpose, e.g. for workmen during construction, or formerly for military cannon. 3. A place or an opportunity to express one's opinion. Labels: figuratively Example: This new talk show will give a platform to everyday men and women. Example: [LeBron] James did not say which vaccine he had taken or the number of doses he had received. He also said that he would not use his platform to publicly encourage others to be vaccinated. 4. Something that allows an enterprise to advance. Labels: figuratively Example: Hidgson may actually feel England could have scored even more but this was the perfect first step on the road to Rio in 2014 and the ideal platform for the second qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday. 5. A political stance on a broad set of issues, which are called planks. Labels: figuratively Example: Now if the earth could be enjoyed in such a manner as every one might have provision, as it may by this platform I have offered, then will the peace of the commonwealth be preserved, and men need not act so hypocritically as the clergy do, and others likewise, to get a living. Example: The Communist Party and its candidates stand on the following platform, which expresses the immediate interests of the majority of the population of our country. 6. A raised structure or other area alongside rails or a driveway alongside which vehicles stop to take in and discharge passengers. Example: We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine.[…]As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other. Example: People on the platforms / Waiting for the trains / I can hear their hearts a-beatin’ / Like pendulums swinging on chains 7. A specific stopping place on one of multiple tracks at a station, numbered or otherwise named. Example: “Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don’t seem to have built it yet, do they?” 8. Ellipsis of platform shoe (“a kind of high shoe with an extra layer between the inner and outer soles”). Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, in-plural Example: Now open the album cover! How fabulous! The four of them [the Pointer Sisters] in platforms of death, tacky gowns, and "reflections of." Example: Walk to Shazzer's from polling station was hideous walk of shame. Also cannot wear platforms now as feet too crippled so will look short. 9. A software system used to provide online services to clients, such as social media, e-commerce, or cloud computing. Labels: Internet Example: Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend. Example: In fact, wealth and power are shifting to those who control the platforms on which all of us create, consume, and connect. 10. A particular operating system or environment such as a database or other specific software; a particular type of computer or microprocessor, used for running other software. Example: That program runs on the X Window System platform. Example: “We used to produce our publication on the Mac, but the Wintel platform is cheaper and there are just as many applications available. So it just seemed to make sense to give up the religious war and get on with the business of doing our job,” said the information systems manager at a New York-based magazine, who asked not to be named. 11. Ellipsis of car platform (“a set of components shared by several vehicle models”). Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis Example: A car platform consists of the underbody, suspension, and axles, plus components such as the steering mechanism, engine, and powertrain. Using such a platform, a car company can design several distinct car models to suit different customer groups[…] 12. A flat expanse of rock, often the result of wave erosion. Example: Wave erosion causes a sea cliff to migrate landward, leaving a gently sloping surface, called a wave-cut platform. A wave-built platform originates by deposition at the seaward margin of the wave-cut platform. 13. A light deck, usually placed in a section of the hold or over the floor of the magazine. 14. A plan; a sketch; a model; a pattern. Labels: obsolete Example: His destruction intended by queene Quendred, hir platforme of the practise to kill him. 15. A sidewalk. Labels: Myanmar