saucer

/ˈsɔsər/

/ˈsɔsə/

Other forms: saucers

A saucer is a small, rounded dish that sits beneath a tea or coffee cup. Other kinds of saucers include objects with a similar round shape — like a flying saucer.

Saucers that live under cups are useful for catching drips from and protecting the table. Many mugs and cups come without saucers, but the cups in a traditional tea service have matching saucers, and coffee cups at a restaurant or cafe are also frequently served with saucers. Objects with a similar round shape can also be called saucers, including flying saucers and saucer-shaped TV antennas. The very earliest saucers were small sauce dishes, and the word stems from the Latin salsus, or "sauce."

Definitions of saucer

1. noun

   a small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table
   type of:

   flatware

   tableware that is relatively flat and fashioned as a single piece
2. noun

   something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
   synonyms: disc, disk

   types:

   intervertebral disc, intervertebral disk

   a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two)

   dot, point

   a very small circular shape

   type of:

   round shape

   a shape that is curved and without sharp angles
3. noun

   a disk used in throwing competitions
   synonyms: discus

   type of:

   disc, disk

   a flat circular plate

   sports equipment

   equipment needed to participate in a particular sport
4. noun

   directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation
   synonyms: dish, dish aerial, dish antenna

   types:

   scanner

   a radar dish that rotates or oscillates in order to scan a broad area

   type of:

   directional antenna

   an antenna that transmits or receives signals only in a narrow angle