crate

American  

[kreyt] / kreɪt /

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.

3. Informal. something rickety and dilapidated, especially an automobile.

   They're still driving around in the old crate they bought 20 years ago.

4. 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.

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verb (used with object)

crated, crating

1. to pack in a crate.

crate British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• crateful noun
• crater noun
• recrate verb (used with object)
• uncrate verb (used with object)
• uncrated adjectiveuncrated, uncrating

Etymology

Origin of crate

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

Example Sentences

There was an old potbellied stove in the corner and a bunch of wooden crates that Cully used for furniture.

From Literature

Video showed customs officers prying open a crate to find the rock, its surface grey and rugged.

From Barron's

At halftime I saw a couple of younger boys haul in crates of drinks, and I wondered what was going on.

From Literature

Pua’s parents arrive bright and early with breakfast enchiladas, and Auntie Nina comes with a crate of papayas.

From Literature

In the stone cellar we uncover blankets, crates of champagne, tins of French pâté, and a folder of glossy photographs of a woman called Gloria Swanson.

From Literature

Related Words

• box
• cage
• carton