crate

[ kreyt ]
See synonyms for: cratecratedcrating on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a slatted wooden box or framework for packing, shopping, or storing fruit, furniture, glassware, crockery, etc.

  2. any completely enclosed boxlike packing or shipping case.

  1. Informal. something rickety and dilapidated, especially an automobile: They're still driving around in the old crate they bought 20 years ago.

  2. a quantity, especially of fruit, that is often packed in a crate approximately 2 × 1 × 1 foot (0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 meters): a crate of oranges.

verb (used with object),crat·ed, crat·ing.
  1. to pack in a crate.

Origin of crate

1
1350–1400; 1915–20 for def. 3; Middle English, obscurely akin to Latin crātis wickerwork, hurdle

Other words from crate

  • re·crate, verb (used with object), re·crat·ed, re·crat·ing.
  • un·crate, verb (used with object), un·crat·ed, un·crat·ing.
  • un·crat·ed, adjective

Words Nearby crate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crate

crate

/ (kreɪt) /


noun
  1. a fairly large container, usually made of wooden slats or wickerwork, used for packing, storing, or transporting goods

  2. slang an old car, aeroplane, etc

verb
  1. (tr) to pack or place in a crate

Origin of crate

1
C16: from Latin crātis wickerwork, hurdle

Derived forms of crate

  • crater, noun
  • crateful, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012