grate
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To make an unpleasant rasping sound, often as the result of rubbing against something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
graytIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɹeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
intransitive
To make an unpleasant rasping sound, often as the result of rubbing against something.
transitivecooking
To shred (things, usually foodstuffs), by rubbing across a grater.
by extensionintransitive
To get on one's nerves; to irritate, annoy.
transitive
To furnish with grates; to protect with a grating or crossbars.
Furnish with a grate
noun
A horizontal metal grill through which liquid, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.
A frame of iron bars to hold a fire
“He placed two logs on the grate inside the fireplace.”
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
Used this way, grate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- rankle , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter).
Feeling or showing gratitude.
With appreciation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Hard or semihard cheese grated.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.