ate

[ eyt; British et ]

See synonyms for ate on Thesaurus.com

verb

simple past tense of eat.

Words that may be confused with ate

ate , eight

Other definitions for Ate (2 of 6)

Ate

[ ey-tee, ah-tee ]

noun

an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it.

Origin of Ate

<Greek, special use of átē reckless impulse, ruin, akin to aáein to mislead, harm

Other definitions for ATE (3 of 6)

ATE

equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.

Origin of ATE

a(utomatic)t(est)e(quipment)

Other definitions for -ate (4 of 6)

-ate¹

a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, its English distribution paralleling that of Latin. The form originated as a suffix added to a-stem verbs to form adjectives (separate). The resulting form could also be used independently as a noun (advocate) and came to be used as a stem on which a verb could be formed (separate; advocate; agitate). In English the use as a verbal suffix has been extended to stems of non-Latin origin: calibrate; acierate.

Origin of -ate

⁴

<Latin -ātus (masculine), -āta (feminine), -ātum (neuter), equivalent to -ā- thematic vowel + -tus, -ta, -tum past participle suffix

Other definitions for -ate (5 of 6)

-ate²

a specialization of -ate¹, used to indicate a salt of an acid ending in -ic, added to a form of the stem of the element or group: nitrate; sulfate.

Origin of -ate

⁵

Probably originally in New Latin phrases, as plumbum acetātum salt produced by the action of acetic acid on lead

Compare -ite¹.

Other definitions for -ate (6 of 6)

-ate³

a suffix occurring originally in nouns borrowed from Latin, and in English coinages from Latin bases, that denote offices or functions (consulate; triumvirate; pontificate), as well as institutions or collective bodies (electorate; senate); sometimes extended to denote a person who exercises such a function (magistrate; potentate), an associated place (consulate), or a period of office or rule (protectorate). Joined to stems of any origin, ate3 signifies the office, term of office, or territory of a ruler or official (caliphate; khanate; shogunate).

Origin of -ate

⁶

<Latin -ātus (genitive -ātūs), generalized from v. derivatives, as augurātus office of an augur (augurā(re) to foretell by augury + -tus suffix of v. action), construed as derivative of auguraugur¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ate in a sentence

Instead, most of the suffering species ate insects on the forest floor.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants | Helen Thompson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He tore a piece of meat off the breast and stroked her coat while she ate.
The Stacks: A Chicken Dinner That Mends Your Heart | Pete Dexter | December 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Then they sat down at the dinner table and ate with delight.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her | The Brothers Grimm | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As infants, my kids ate food right off the floor without washing or boiling.
A Doctor Explains Why Cruise Ships Should Be Banned | Kent Sepkowitz | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I ordered a salad, ate it, and in the bathroom snuck a swig of Pepto.
I Shot Bin Laden | Elliot Ackerman | November 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.
Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard Barnum
And in the midst of his speculations, overpowered by fatigue, he fell asleep, and ate his breakfast next morning very happily.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
At noon we camped, and cooked a bite of dinner while the horses grazed; ate it, and went on again.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
When Yung Pak ate his meals, he sat upon a rug on the floor with his father and such male guests as might be in the house.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. Pike
They stood outside the window and the cook passed them their coffee and a roll, which they drank and ate from the window-sill.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin

British Dictionary definitions for ate (1 of 4)

ate

/ (ɛt, eɪt) /

verb

the past tense of eat

British Dictionary definitions for Ate (2 of 4)

Ate

/ (ˈeɪtɪ, ˈɑːtɪ) /

noun

Greek myth a goddess who makes men blind so that they will blunder into guilty acts

Origin of Ate

C16: via Latin from Greek atē a rash impulse

British Dictionary definitions for -ate (3 of 4)

-ate¹

suffix

(forming adjectives) possessing; having the appearance or characteristics of: fortunate; palmate; Latinate
(forming nouns) a chemical compound, esp a salt or ester of an acid: carbonate; stearate

(forming nouns) the product of a process: condensate
forming verbs from nouns and adjectives: hyphenate; rusticate

Origin of -ate

from Latin -ātus, past participial ending of verbs ending in -āre

British Dictionary definitions for -ate (4 of 4)

-ate²

suffix forming nouns

denoting office, rank, or a group having a certain function: episcopate; electorate

Origin of -ate

⁴

from Latin -ātus, suffix (fourth declension) of collective nouns

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

Scientific definitions for -ate

-ate

A suffix used to form the name of a salt or ester of an acid whose name ends in -ic, such as acetate, a salt or ester of acetic acid. Such salts or esters have one oxygen atom more than corresponding salts or esters with names ending in -ite. For example, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid and contains the group SO4, while a sulfite contains SO3. Compare -ite.

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