Grate
/ɡreɪt/
Definitions
4 meaningsTo rub food or another substance against a rough surface, such as a grater, in order to break it into small pieces.
/ɡreɪt/
To reduce (something) to small shreds by rubbing it against a rough surface.
She carefully grated the carrots for the salad.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're making shredded cheese for your tacos. You take a block of cheese and rub it on a grater. That's grating! You're breaking it down into smaller pieces, like little cheese snowflakes.
👶 For kids: To cut something into tiny pieces by rubbing it on a tool with holes, like when you make cheese for pizza.
More Examples
He grated the nutmeg over the eggnog.
The chef grated the ginger into the sauce.
How It's Used
"I grated the cheese over the pasta."
"She grated the wood to make sawdust."
To have an irritating or unpleasant effect; to annoy or irritate.
/ɡreɪt/
To cause an irritating effect or to have an unpleasant effect.
The harsh sunlight grated on his eyes.
💡 Simply: Ever have something that just really bothers you? Maybe it's a squeaky door or a loud neighbor. When something bugs you like that, it 'grates' on you. It's like nails on a chalkboard, but in your brain!
👶 For kids: To bother or annoy you like a scratchy sound.
More Examples
His constant complaints began to grate on her patience.
The discordant music grated against her ears.
How It's Used
"The constant noise grated on her nerves."
"His harsh voice grated in the silence of the room."
To rub the skin against a rough surface, especially in a harsh way (archaic).
/ɡreɪt/
Archaic: To rub (a person's skin) against something rough.
💡 Simply: Imagine being tied up with a rough rope, or against a rough stone wall. The rubbing would be like the feeling of grating in the old days.
👶 For kids: A super old way of saying something rough rubbed against someone's skin.
How It's Used
"The prisoner's chains grated against his wrists."
A frame, typically made of metal bars, that holds fuel in a fireplace or furnace.
/ɡreɪt/
A frame of metal bars for a fire.
He stoked the fire on the grate.
💡 Simply: Imagine a metal frame at the bottom of a fireplace. That's the grate! It holds the wood so the fire can burn properly.
👶 For kids: A metal thing that holds the wood in a fireplace.
More Examples
The grate allowed for good airflow under the burning logs.
The old grate was replaced with a new one.
How It's Used
"The logs were placed on the grate for the fireplace."
"The grate was used for cooking over a fire."
Idioms & expressions
grate on someone
To irritate or annoy someone.
"Her constant complaining really grates on me."
From Middle English *graten*, from Old French *grater* ('to scrape, scratch'), of Germanic origin, related to Old English *grātan* ('to weep').
Historically, the word 'grate' for rubbing or scraping dates back to Old French and earlier Germanic roots, reflecting the physical action of scraping or eroding.
Memory tip
Think of grating cheese; it's like scraping it into tiny pieces.
Word Origin
"To scrape or rub, or a frame with bars."