grater

American  

[grey-ter] / ˈgreɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that grates. grate.

2. any of various kitchen devices for grating grate grating food.

   a cheese grater.

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ˈgrater British  

/ ˈɡreɪtə /

noun

1. a kitchen utensil with sharp-edged perforations for grating carrots, cheese, etc

2. a person or thing that grates

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Etymology

Origin of grater

1400–50; late Middle English. See grate ², -er ¹

Example Sentences

Handcrafted from an 18th-century original, this grater nestles neatly in a bowl for shredding cheese or vegetables.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

The wiring diagram was made by slicing up a fly brain using what is essentially a microscopic cheese grater, photographing each of the 7,000 slices and digitally putting them altogether.

From BBC • Oct. 2, 2024

The exhaustive fights, coordinated by Dawid Szatarski and which include nightmarish use of a cheese grater, are designed in the extended-play style that “Oldboy” dynamically ushered in.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2024

This method works with anything with holes, such as a straw hat, a strainer, a cheese grater or even a perforated spoon.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2024

We open and shut all the drawers and cabinets until we've found a pot for the chili, a grater for the cheese, a baking pan for the corn bread, and plates and silverware.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour