grate

[greyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a frame of metal bars for holding fuel when burning, as in a fireplace, furnace, or stove.

a framework of parallel or crossed bars, used as a partition, guard, cover, or the like; grating.

a fireplace.

verb (used with object), grat·ed, grat·ing.

to furnish with a grate or grates.

Origin of grate

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin grāta a grating, variant of crāta, derivative of Latin crāt- (stem of crātis) wickerwork, hurdle; cf. crate

Related formsgrate·less, adjectivegrate·like, adjective

grate

[greyt]

verb (used without object), grat·ed, grat·ing.

to have an irritating or unpleasant effect: His constant chatter grates on my nerves.

to make a sound of, or as if of, rough scraping; rasp.

to sound harshly; jar: to grate on the ear.

to scrape or rub with rough or noisy friction, as one thing on or against another.

verb (used with object), grat·ed, grat·ing.

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.

Origin of grate

1375–1425; late Middle English graten < Old French grater < Germanic; compare German kratzen to scratch

Synonyms for grate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grate ON THESAURUS.COM

7. vex, gall, nettle, irk, rile, bug.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grate

rub, mince, pulverize, pound, rasp, scuff, scratch, bray, scrape, abrade, file, skin, gall, bark, raze, fray, annoy, chafe, aggravate, exasperate

Examples from the Web for grate

Contemporary Examples of grate

It was kind of like when you walk over a grate and you can hear the subway barreling in.
New York Journalists Remember the First Moments of 9/11
Abby Haglage
September 11, 2013
I occasionally bring it right to the table so people can grate their own.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide
Megan McArdle
December 13, 2012
Preheat the grill to high heat and brush the grate with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
A Savory Spring Picnic
Jamie & Bobby Deen
April 19, 2011
If you do not have a food processor, grate by hand on a box grater.
Mouth-Watering Potato Pancakes
Jacquelynn D. Powers
December 1, 2010
Just for starters, you can eat it alone with a glass of red wine, or can grate it over pasta or salads.
The Man Who Makes Oprah Melt
Cookstr.com
June 30, 2009

Historical Examples of grate

Here, take this seat,' and he moved a great chair close to the grate.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
Mr Verloc mumbled, with his nose over the grate, and with marked unwillingness.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
She glanced all round the parlour, from the corner cupboard to the good fire in the grate.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Then weigh three quarters of a pound, and grate it into a dish.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Bake the pudding an hour, and grate nutmeg over it when done.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for grate

grate

verb

(tr) to reduce to small shreds by rubbing against a rough or sharp perforated surfaceto 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

a harsh rasping sound

Word Origin for grate

C15: from Old French grater to scrape, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German krazzōn

grate

noun

a framework of metal bars for holding fuel in a fireplace, stove, or furnace

a less common word for fireplace

another name for grating 1 (def. 1)

mining a perforated metal screen for grading crushed ore

verb

(tr) to provide with a grate or grates

Word Origin for grate

C14: from Old French grate, from Latin crātis hurdle

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

Word Origin and History for grate

late 14c., "grill for cooking;" early 15c., "iron bars or cagework across a door or windows," from Anglo-Latin (mid-14c.), from Old French grate or directly from Medieval Latin grata "lattice," from Latin cratis "wickerwork, hurdle" (see hurdle). As a verb meaning "to fit with a grate," from mid-15c. Related: Grated; grating.

"to scrape, rub," late 14c. (implied in grated), from Old French grater "to scrape" (Modern French gratter), from Frankish *kratton, from Proto-Germanic *krattojan (cf. Old High German krazzon "to scratch, scrape," German kratzen "to scratch," Swedish kratta, Danish kratte "to rake"), probably of imitative origin. Senses of "sound harshly," and "annoy" are mid-16c. Italian grattare also is from Germanic. Related: Grated; grating.