Parts of a TV Mount – Labeled Wall Mount Diagram

All 9 parts on the diagram

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The mount 4

Wall plate It is the part fixed to the wall. It is used as a template to mark the holes, centered over a wood stud, before it is bolted on.
Lag bolts Pass through the wall plate into a wood stud. The holes are drilled first. They are tightened until firm against the plate.
Arm Swings on its joints. The television can be pulled out from the wall, turned to the side, and folded back flat.
Monitor plate Screwed to the television's back first, then hung on the arm. Makers also call it a VESA plate or an adapter plate. Large mounts use two TV brackets.

TV back and hardware 5

VESA mounting holes Threaded holes set out to a shared standard. Most televisions and mounts follow it. The first pattern was a square 100 millimeters on a side. Larger screens use larger patterns.
Mounting screws They fasten the monitor plate to the television. A mount comes with several sizes and lengths, because televisions differ.
Spacers Go between the plate and the television. Used when its back is not flat, or when the plate would block a socket.
Washers Each goes under the head of a screw or a lag bolt.
Concrete anchors For a wall of concrete, brick or block. An anchor is pushed into each drilled hole, and the lag bolt is screwed into the anchor.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Five unrelated mount makers' installation manuals and sheets, read as full text on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-d35afcfe-d9da-4135-a7b4-600e2ba6fbdb (wall plate, monitor plate, lag bolts, concrete anchors); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7196596 (wall plate, arm assembly, VESA plate, spacers, washers, concrete anchors); https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-454779 (wall arm assembly, wall plate, adapter plate, retaining spacers, concrete anchors); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7054006 (wall plate, TV brackets, lag bolts and their washers, mounting screws, universal spacers, concrete anchors); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6335263 (wall plate, monitor plate, arm, lag bolts, washers, spacers). (2) Wikipedia, text only: VESA mount (four screw holes in a square, 100 mm, M4, M6 and M8 screws) and Monitor mount. The VESA standard itself, named in the plan, is not free to read. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's mount, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a TV mount in two views: a full-motion mount from the side, pulled out from the wall, and the back of the television with the screws, spacers, washers and anchors that come in the box.

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Wall side, TV side, hardware

Numbers 1 and 2 are on the wall: the wall plate and the lag bolts that hold it. Number 3 is the arm between wall and television. Number 4 is the monitor plate on the back of the television. Number 5 is the square of VESA mounting holes the plate is screwed to. Numbers 6 to 9 are the small hardware: mounting screws, spacers, washers and concrete anchors.

The plate on the TV and the plate on the wall are separate: each is fixed first, then the two are joined.
Concrete anchors are for brick, block and concrete walls. In a wood-stud wall the lag bolts go straight into the stud.

Questions and answers

What are the VESA holes on the back of a TV?

Four threaded holes set in a square or rectangle to a standard published by VESA, the Video Electronics Standards Association. Most televisions and mounts follow the same patterns, so a mount from one maker usually fits a television from another.

What are the spacers for in a TV mount kit?

They fill a gap between the plate and the back of the television. They are needed when the back is curved or uneven, or when the plate would otherwise cover a socket. A flat-backed television does not need them.

What holds a TV mount to the wall?

The wall plate, fastened with lag bolts. In a wood-framed wall the bolts go into a stud. In concrete, brick or block, a concrete anchor goes into each drilled hole first and the bolt screws into the anchor.

What is the part of the mount that attaches to the TV called?

Makers use several names: monitor plate, VESA plate, adapter plate or, on large mounts, a pair of TV brackets. It is screwed to the mounting holes on the back of the television.