# table

Pronunciation: say "TAY-buhl" US/UK /ˈteɪbl̩/, AUS /ˈtæɪ.bəl/

## Noun

1. A piece of furniture with a raised, flat top, usually supported by legs, used for eating, working, or playing games.
   - Simple: A piece of furniture with a flat top, used for eating, working, or playing games.
   - _The carpenter sanded the table until its surface was perfectly smooth._
   - _Guests left their coats on a long table near the entrance._
2. An arrangement of data or figures in rows and columns, such as a chart of results or a multiplication table.
   - Simple: Information set out in rows and columns so it is easy to compare, like a times table.
   - _The scientist summarized her results in a single table._
   - _Each row of the table listed a country and its population._
3. A ranked listing of teams or competitors showing their relative standing based on results over a set period.
   - Simple: A list that ranks teams or players by how well they have done over a season.
   - _A late goal lifted them three places up the table._
   - _By April, the table showed a clear gap between the top two clubs._
4. A group of people sitting at a table together, for a meal, a meeting or a game.
   - Simple: The people sitting together at a table, for a meal, a meeting or a game.
   - _The entire table fell silent when the chairman stood._
   - _Our table split into two groups for the next round._
9. The forum where negotiations or formal talks take place, pictured as a spot where the parties come together to bargain.
   - Simple: Talks between groups trying to agree on a deal, thought of as a place where they meet.
   - _Months of sanctions finally brought the government to the table._
   - _Whatever you can't win at the table, you'll have to fight for in court._
6. An organized set of stored values, often arranged as vectors, used to look up data quickly.
   - Simple: A list of values arranged so a computer can quickly look something up.
   - _The function reads a lookup table instead of recalculating each result._
   - _Engineers built a table mapping each sensor reading to a calibrated value._
7. The food and hospitality provided by a host or household; the spread of fare offered.
   - Simple: The food and good things to eat that a household or host provides.
   - _The old manor was famous for its lavish table._
   - _She kept a good table, and guests rarely left hungry._
8. A booth or display stand set up at an event such as a fair or exposition.
   - Simple: A stand or display where someone shows or sells things at a fair or event.
   - _Each charity was given a table in the exhibition hall._
   - _She booked a table at the trade show to promote her startup._
15. A flat, portable tray that can serve as a table surface.
   - Simple: A flat tray that you can use like a small table.
16. A celebration of Holy Communion; the service at which bread and wine are shared.
   - Simple: A church service where Christians share bread and wine.
   - _The elders served the congregation at the Lord's table on the first Sunday of each month._
   - _A visiting minister presided at the table that evening._
17. One of the four six-point sections of a backgammon board; each player has an inner table, or home board, and an outer table.
   - Simple: One of the four parts of a backgammon board, each with six points.
   - _She shifted her last checker onto the inner table._
   - _The bar separates the inner table from the outer table._

## Verb

10. To postpone or set aside a proposal indefinitely, removing it from current discussion. *(US)*
   - Simple: To stop talking about a plan for now and deal with it later, or maybe never.
   - _The board voted to table the merger until market conditions improved._
   - _They chose to table the controversial plan rather than reject it outright._
5. To formally propose a matter for discussion by a committee or legislative body, placing it on the agenda. *(UK, Commonwealth)*
   - Simple: To bring forward a plan or idea so a group can discuss it officially.
   - _The opposition plans to table an amendment to the bill._
   - _She will table the report so the board can review it formally._
11. To represent a company or organization at a booth or display, such as at a fair or exposition.
   - Simple: To stand at a booth at a fair or show to represent a company or group.
   - _Two of our staff will table at the trade show to demonstrate the new software._
   - _Nonprofits often table outside grocery stores to gather signatures._
12. To lay one's cards face-up on the table, especially at showdown to reveal a hand. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To lay your playing cards down face-up so everyone can see them.
   - _With the river dealt, he tabled two pair and dragged the pot._
   - _Players must table their hands before any side pot is awarded._
13. To set or place something onto a table.
   - Simple: To place something on top of a table.
14. To set out information in the form of a table, organizing it into rows and columns.
   - Simple: To arrange facts or numbers into rows and columns.
   - _She tabled the monthly totals before presenting them._
   - _Researchers table their raw measurements before analysis._

## Verb

18. To provide a guest or visitor with food at a table; to feed. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To give a guest food at a table, or to feed someone.
20. To depict or represent something, as in a picture; to portray. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To show or draw something in a picture.
21. To join pieces of timber together using coaks, projections on one piece that fit into recesses cut in the other. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To join pieces of wood by fitting bumps cut on one piece into holes cut in the other.

## Noun

19. A small flat tablet used for writing, such as one of wax or clay. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A small flat surface used long ago for writing on.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The top face of a stringed instrument of the violin family, the surface against which the strings vibrate.
- (noun) The flat topmost facet of a cut diamond, set across the crown of the stone.
- (noun) A wide, flat-topped jumping obstacle that a horse must clear in cross-country riding.
- (noun) A flat gravestone raised on supporting pillars above a burial plot.
- (verb) To sew a broad, reinforcing hem along the edges of a sail where it meets the bolt-rope.

## Origin

Latin tabula ("tablet, board, plank, chart") was borrowed early into Germanic, giving Old English tabule and tabula ("board"), which English inherited as Middle English table. The meaning "piece of furniture" came separately from Old French table, which has the same Latin source, because Old English used bēod or bord for that. Table, tabula, and tavla are doublets.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/table (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).