grate

¹ American  

[grayt] / greɪt /

noun

• grates
  plural

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

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

3. a fireplace.

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verb (used with object)

grated, grating

1. to furnish with a grate or grates.

grate ² American  

[grayt] / greɪt /

verb (used without object)

grated, grating

1. to have an irritating or unpleasant effect.

   His constant chatter grates on my nerves.

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

3. to sound harshly; jar.

   to grate on the ear.

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

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verb (used with object)

grated, grating

1. to reduce to small particles by rubbing against a rough surface or a surface with many sharp-edged openings.

   to grate a carrot.

2. to rub together with a harsh, jarring sound.

   to grate one's teeth.

3. to irritate or annoy.

   Synonyms:

   bug, rile, irk, nettle, gall, vex

4. Archaic. to wear down or away by rough friction.

grate ¹ British  

/ ɡreɪt /

noun

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

2. a less common word for fireplace

3. another name for grating 1

4. mining a perforated metal screen for grading crushed ore

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with a grate or grates

grate ² British  

/ ɡreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to reduce to small shreds by rubbing against a rough or sharp perforated surface

   to grate carrots

2. to scrape (an object) against something or (objects) together, producing a harsh rasping sound, or (of objects) to scrape with such a sound

3. (intr; foll by on or upon) to annoy

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noun

1. a harsh rasping sound

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• grateless
  adjective
• gratelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• grates
  plural

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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”

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grate grates grated grating

Thanks for several chuckles — especially your response to the reader who questioned the existence of editors at the Times: “Thats a grate queston.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

"It's beginning to grate on me because I can't partake in helping with my defence," he said, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

I like to finely grate or purée zucchini and carrots into the mixture for extra juiciness.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 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

As soon as the blade touched the iron of the grate, the metal split in half with a tiny hiss.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

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 tax charged on agricultural exports grates on people like Marcos Pereda, who operates a grain farm north of Buenos Aires and a cattle farm to the west.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

We hooked our fingers through the grates to keep from being washed into the sea.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

A flat piece of fried dough typically topped with sour cream, garlic and grated cheese, ordinary lángos is best sampled at the city’s market halls, for 1/100th the price of Stand’s tasting menu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Pesto is made here with basil, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and grated cheese, all ground to a thick paste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Zucchini could be grated and cooked down until jammy, then loosened with pasta water; tomatoes could be sliced, salted and left to steep in olive oil.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

As fatigue -- and anger at army scandals -- grew, that approach grated.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

She insists that her potato pancakes can only be made from freshly grated potatoes.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Feeling powerless is grating and interviewing for a new role can increase your sense of control, even if you don’t end up taking it.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

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 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

Older generations might find it grating and simplistic, at least initially.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Dustfinger wished he could put his hands through the grating and shake this silly little goose.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

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Related Words

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