table: Meaning and Definition of

ta•ble

1. an article of furniture consisting of a flat, slablike top supported on one or more legs or other supports: a kitchen table; an operating table; a pool table.
2. such a piece of furniture specifically used for serving food to those seated at it.
3. the food placed on a table to be eaten: She sets a good table.
4. a group of persons at a table, as for a meal, game, or business transaction.
5. a gaming table.
6. a flat or plane surface; a level area.
7. a tableland or plateau.
8. a concise list or guide: a table of contents.
9. an arrangement of words, numbers, or signs, or combinations of them, as in parallel columns, to exhibit a set of facts or relations in a definite, compact, and comprehensive form; a synopsis or scheme.
10. (cap.)the constellation Mensa.
11. a flat and relatively thin piece of wood, stone, metal, or other hard substance, esp. one artificially shaped for a particular purpose.
1. a course or band, esp. of masonry, having a distinctive form or position.
2. a distinctively treated surface on a wall.
13. a smooth, flat board or slab on which inscriptions may be put.
14. the tables of the Decalogue.
1. the tablets on which certain collections of laws were anciently inscribed:the tables of the Decalogue.
2. the laws themselves.
15. the inner or outer hard layer or any of the flat bones of the skull.
16. a sounding board.
1. the upper horizontal surface of a faceted gem.
2. a gem with such a surface.
1. U.S.postponed.
2. Brit.submitted for consideration.
19. to cause a reversal of an existing situation, esp. with regard to gaining the upper hand over a competitor, rival, antagonist, etc.: Fortune turned the tables and we won. We turned the tables on them and undersold them by 50 percent.
20. She gave money under the table to get the apartment.
1. drunk.
2. as a bribe; secretly:She gave money under the table to get the apartment.
21. to work as a waiter or waitress: He worked his way through college by waiting table.

1. to place (a card, money, etc.) on a table.
2. to enter in or form into a table or list.
1. Chiefly U.S.to lay aside (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for future discussion, usually with a view to postponing or shelving the matter indefinitely.
2. Brit.to present (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for discussion.

1. of, pertaining to, or for use on a table: a table lamp.
2. suitable for serving at a table or for eating or drinking: table grapes.