Grate Meaning
/ˈɡɹeɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA horizontal metal grill through which liquid, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.
nounA frame or bed, or kind of basket, of iron bars, for holding fuel while burning.
Sentence Examples
Dan entered the facility through a damaged metal grate.
Tom's wide-eyed optimism is beginning to grate on my nerves.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the pasta dish, she needed to ____ the block of cheese.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The chef used a fine metal ____ to shred the blocks of hard parmesan cheese for the pasta dish.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English grate, from a Medieval Latin crāta, from a Latin word for a hurdle; or Italian grata, from Latin cratis.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"a secret grate of iron bars"
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
"Lances (only shown at Stoke D'Abernon) were commonly made of ash, about 13 feet long. A ring of metal (grate or grapper) was fastened to the shaft and during a fight[…]"
— 1969, Herbert Walter Macklin, Monumental Brasses:
"[…] and a heavy metal ring, called the grate or graper, fastened to the shaft below the grip. The grate rested against the knight's breastplate and relieved the hand and arm of the full shock of contact. The metallic head (or socket) of the war lance was usually leaf shaped, while that of the tilting lance, at least from[…]"
— 1980, The Encyclopedia Americana, volume 16, page 683:
"The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"News, my good lord Rome […] grates me."
— c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the pasta dish, she needed to ____ the block of cheese.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The chef used a fine metal ____ to shred the blocks of hard parmesan cheese for the pasta dish.