a plate or tag, usually of metal, bearing evidence of official registration and permission, as for the use of a motor vehicle.
Origin
1900-05
Examples from the web for license plate
Quality chrome-finished metal license plate frame with high-impact insert featuring team name and logo in raised lettering.
The driver and his license plate can be read from the footage, and the whole lot used as evidence.
Incident commanders could use it to pull images from surveillance choppers or data from license plate readers.
The meter will photograph your license plate and rat you out to the authorities.
license plate bulb burned out plus after searching the whole car, a studded snow tire.
The metal of the flatbed shows a long wash of blood, and trickles of blood streak the license plate.
They name a gunboat that had not yet been commissioned and a license plate that was yet to be issued.
The tall cop calls in the license plate number on his radio.
Doug, estimated abilities of spy satellites put them in the range of maybe reading a car license plate, if the angle is right.
So yeah, it's a pretty safe bet that if the military wants to read your license plate from orbit, they can.
British Dictionary definitions for license plate
license plate
noun
1.
(US & Canadian) a plate mounted on the front and back of a motor vehicle bearing the registration number Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) numberplate