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Some doors have this plate that guards the latch mechanism.

For some reason my search-fu is failing, I found tons of diagrams of lock and door parts but I can't find that plate.

What is that called?

double doors with metal plate covering latch circled

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    My locksmith calls them jimmy plates or jimmy guards because they prevent the catch from being jimmied if that is a word lots of good answers below.
    – Ed Beal
    Jan 12, 2021 at 18:45
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    @EdBeal Definitely a word, though also definitely slang. Out in the real world I'd call that a good name for it, even if not a 'proper' one.
    – TylerH
    Jan 12, 2021 at 18:47
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    Note these are only effective against the most amateur of break-ins. They can be easily defeated with a simple piece of stiff wire or string (as I learned after locking myself out of my dorm room back in college - the handle from a Chinese food takeout box works great.) For any real security, you're going to want at least a deadbolt, unless you want to go as far as an actual alarm system of some kind.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Jan 13, 2021 at 15:09
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    those plates slow down someone that uses an angle grinder to cut the lock bolts
    – jsotola
    Aug 1, 2021 at 21:01

4 Answers 4

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Some doors have this plate that guards the latch mechanism.

You have one answer in that sentence, Guard and latch, just reverse them to "Latch Guard".

It is called many things,

A "latch shield"

Or "Door latch guard"

Or "Latch protector".

To name a few.

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One match is "Latch Guard":

Latch Guard

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The protective plate around the keyhole in a door is called an escutcheon plate, but the term can be used to describe a metal plate serving a similar purpose, either protecting a mechanism or a surface or finish, on architectural fittings like doors and windows as well as on furniture. Hope this is somewhere close to useful.

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    I think of the escutcheon as the (typically but not always) round plate around and/or between the lock or knob and the door. A latch guard is usually (from my experience) a separate piece specifically to cover the gap between the door and the frame to prevent jimmying.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Jan 13, 2021 at 2:25
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If the plate went the entire height of the door, it would be called an Astragal.

The best citation I found for this is Oxford Languages (Google's dictionary search partner), but there is no link.

noun: astragal; plural noun: astragals a convex molding or wooden strip across a surface or separating panels, typically semicircular in cross-section. ARCHITECTURE a small semicircular molding around the top or bottom of a column. a wooden molding that covers the gap between a pair of doors or casement windows. a glazing bar, typically one used in cabinetmaking.

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    While this is very valid for a strip covering the entire height of the door (and the pair of double doors in the OP's picture has, I'm sure, some sort of astragal on the inside for them to weather seal against), this doesn't address the lock-protection only plate that the OP is asking about.
    – FreeMan
    Jan 13, 2021 at 19:00
  • Free, I should have made clearer that this response wasn't trying to directly answer the OP's question. I just thought this cool word was somewhat relevant. I only know it because we had to add an astragal to our front door recently, and liked the word.
    – Jim
    Jan 14, 2021 at 22:47

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