grate
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to reduce to small particles by rubbing against a rough surface or a surface with many sharp-edged openings.
to grate a carrot.
-
to rub together with a harsh, jarring sound.
to grate one's teeth.
-
to irritate or annoy.
-
Archaic. to wear down or away by rough friction.
noun
verb
verb
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(tr) to reduce to small shreds by rubbing against a rough or sharp perforated surface
to grate carrots
-
to scrape (an object) against something or (objects) together, producing a harsh rasping sound, or (of objects) to scrape with such a sound
-
(intr; foll by on or upon) to annoy
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of grate1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin grāta “a grating, lattice,” variant of crāta, derivative of Latin crāt- (stem of crātis ) “wickerwork, hurdle”; cf. crate
Origin of grate2
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English graten “to reduce to powder, crumble, grate,” from Old French grater, from Germanic; compare German kratzen “to scratch,” Swedish kratta “to rake”
Explanation
When you grate something you rip it to shreds, like a pound of solid cheese that you shred for a recipe. The verb grate entered the English language in the fourteenth century by way of the French word grater, meaning “to scrape.” Using grate in this sense, you might grate your teeth or grate a carrot, meaning rub or pulverize. By the sixteenth century the word had taken on the additional meaning of “sound harshly” and “annoy.” This evolution makes sense if you think about it: If you’ve ever had anything really annoy you — "grate on your nerves" — it can almost seem as if a cheese grater has been applied to your nerves and is slowly ripping them to shreds.
Vocabulary lists containing grate
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I like to grate the cheese from a fresh block or chunk and add it once my soup is done heating up.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
After the crocodile ate a bird that had flown in, staff moved the reptile outside and used cinder blocks to weigh down the grate keeping it closed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
"I had this feeling like a heavy metal grate pressing down on my face.. I was telling myself to get up, but I couldn't get up."
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
"If you just need to grate some cheese over pasta, there are alternatives," she said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
I intended to back the cart right up to the barn door, and try to get the grate that far on the sled, and then onto the cart.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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Metal grates and sandbags were used to prevent debris from floating into storm drains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
What grates with a lot of people in the game is that they are not asked what they think the problem is with VAR.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Though all of the back-and-forth between Celeste and Johannes grates the viewer as it circles the drain, Charli, Zamiri and Brandes are aiming and firing at a very real and expanding phenomenon.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
The key, he cautions, is to cook the chicken until it releases from the grates with little resistance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
Little waterfalls trickle through the sewer grates down the street.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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As fatigue -- and anger at army scandals -- grew, that approach grated.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Crack one egg into each center, then scatter with cubed pancetta, grated pecorino and plenty of black pepper.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Other cheese options include freshly grated gruyère, a classic choice for French Onion soup; Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is perfect in tomato-forward pasta soups; and crumbly goat cheese, which complements butternut squash soup or pumpkin bisque.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Finish with a generous dollop of ricotta and shower with freshly grated Parmigiano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
He had one sleeve in the coat when a knock sounded at the door, and as he drew back the bolt a man’s voice grated harshly through the silent room.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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And after several weeks of 90-degree days, I had become devoted to grating tomatoes, an activity especially suited to weather in which chewing can seem like an unreasonable demand.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
The system accurately steered the beam across a broad field of view without producing any grating lobes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
The performance, perhaps intending to inject a note of potential menace, plays up Ru’s anger at the expense of his hurt — and comes off as grating and utterly unsympathetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
As Selim, the visiting Turk who catches Fiorilla’s eye, bass Vincent Graña had pitch and rhythm issues, and the grating timbre of Kresley Figueroa’s big, agile soprano undercut her depiction of Fiorilla.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
But Meggie retreated from him until her back was up against the grating.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.