clean your plate

Meaning

This expression means to eat all the food that has been served on your plate, leaving nothing behind. It is often used by parents encouraging children to finish their meals, or casually to compliment a delicious meal. The tone is usually lighthearted, though sometimes it carries a slight connotation of obligation.

Examples

• You must have been starving; you completely cleaned your plate!

  You must have been starving; you completely cleaned your plate!

• Growing up, my parents wouldn't let me leave the table until I cleaned my plate.

  Growing up, my parents wouldn't let me leave the table until I cleaned my plate.

• The lasagna was so delicious that everyone cleaned their plates.

  The lasagna was so delicious that everyone cleaned their plates.

• I'm trying not to clean my plate anymore because I want to listen to my body when I'm full.

  I'm trying not to clean my plate anymore because I want to listen to my body when I'm full.

• If you clean your plate, you can have some chocolate cake for dessert.

  If you clean your plate, you can have some chocolate cake for dessert.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I cleared my plate because the steak was amazing.

  ✓ I cleaned my plate because the steak was amazing.

  'Clear the plate' (or 'clear the table') means to physically remove the dishes from the table after a meal, whereas 'clean your plate' means to eat all the food on it.

• ✗ You should clean the plate before leaving.

  ✓ You should clean your plate before leaving.

  We almost always use a possessive pronoun (your, my, their, his, her) instead of the article 'the' when using this idiom to refer to eating.

Related Expressions

Practice

• My mom always told me to ___ before getting dessert.

  💡 Finish all the food on your dish.

  Show answer

  clean my plate

• I was so full I couldn't ___.

  💡 Eat everything served to me.

  Show answer

  clean my plate