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definitions

skate

1
[ skeyt ]
/ skeɪt /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

to slide (a flat) across the floor of a stage.

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RELATED WORDS

glide, glissade, skim, flow, coast

Nearby words

  1. skanky-ho,
  2. skara brae,
  3. skarn,
  4. skase,
  5. skat,
  6. skate over,
  7. skate ski,
  8. skate-ski,
  9. skateboard,
  10. skateboarder

Idioms

    get/put one's skates on, British Informal. to make haste.
    skate on thin ice, to be or place oneself in a risky or delicate situation: Taking a public stand on the question would be skating on thin ice.

Origin of skate

1
1640–50; orig. plural scates < Dutch schaats (singular) skate, Middle Dutch schaetse stilt (compare Medieval Latin scatia) < ?
Related formsskate·a·ble, adjective

Definition for skate (2 of 3)

skate

2
[ skeyt ]
/ skeɪt /

noun, plural (especially collectively) skate, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) skates.

any of several rays of the genus Raja, usually having a pointed snout, as R. binoculata (big skate), inhabiting waters along the Pacific coast of the U.S., growing to a length of 8 feet (2.4 meters).

Origin of skate

2
1300–50; Middle English scate < Old Norse skati

Definition for skate (3 of 3)

skate

3
[ skeyt ]
/ skeɪt /

noun Slang.

a person; fellow: He's a good skate.
a contemptible person.
an inferior, decrepit horse; nag.

Origin of skate

3
perhaps special use of skate2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for skate

British Dictionary definitions for skate (1 of 3)

skate

1
/ (skeɪt) /

noun

verb (intr)

Word Origin for skate

C17: via Dutch from Old French éschasse stilt, probably of Germanic origin

British Dictionary definitions for skate (2 of 3)

skate

2
/ (skeɪt) /

noun plural skate or skates

any large ray of the family Rajidae, of temperate and tropical seas, having flat pectoral fins continuous with the head, two dorsal fins, a short spineless tail, and a long snout

Word Origin for skate

C14: from Old Norse skata

British Dictionary definitions for skate (3 of 3)

skate

3
/ (skeɪt) /

noun

US slang a person; fellow

Word Origin for skate

from Scottish and northern English dialect skate, a derogatory term of uncertain origin
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

Idioms and Phrases with skate

skate

In addition to the idiom beginning with skate

  • skate over

also see:

  • cheap skate
  • on thin ice, skate
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.