Library / English Dictionary

GRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A frame of iron bars to hold a fire

Synonyms:

grate; grating

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("grate" is a kind of...):

frame; framework (a structure supporting or containing something)

Holonyms ("grate" is a part of...):

furnace (an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc.)

cooking stove; kitchen range; kitchen stove; range; stove (a kitchen appliance used for cooking food)

Derivation:

grate (furnish with a grate)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air

Synonyms:

grate; grating

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("grate" is a kind of...):

barrier (a structure or object that impedes free movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "grate"):

grille; radiator grille (grating that admits cooling air to car's radiator)

Derivation:

grate (furnish with a grate)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A harsh rasping sound made by scraping something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("grate" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Scratch repeatedly

Example:

The cat scraped at the armchair

Synonyms:

grate; scrape

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "grate" is one way to...):

rub (move over something with pressure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "grate"):

paw (scrape with the paws)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together

Example:

grate one's teeth in anger

Synonyms:

grate; grind

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "grate" is one way to...):

break up; fragment; fragmentise; fragmentize (break or cause to break into pieces)

"Grate" entails doing...:

rub (move over something with pressure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "grate"):

gnash (grind together, of teeth)

chew; jaw; manducate; masticate (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Reduce to small shreds or pulverize by rubbing against a rough or sharp perforated surface

Example:

grate nutmeg

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "grate" is one way to...):

rub (move over something with pressure)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

grater (utensil with sharp perforations for shredding foods (as vegetables or cheese))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Gnaw into; make resentful or angry

Example:

his resentment festered

Synonyms:

eat into; fret; grate; rankle

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "grate" is one way to...):

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex (cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will grate him

Sense 5

Meaning:

Furnish with a grate

Example:

a grated fireplace

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "grate" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

grate (a frame of iron bars to hold a fire)

grate (a barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air)

grating (a frame of iron bars to hold a fire)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He felt her callouses grind and grate on his, and a great wave of pity welled over him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Nor was it unwarranted: in five minutes more the grating key, the yielding lock, warned me my watch was relieved.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"Anywhere. I don't care what becomes of me," and Laurie got up with a reckless laugh that grated on his grandfather's ear.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The emitted radiation is dispersed by a grating monochrometer and detected with photomultiplier tubes.

(Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer, NCI Thesaurus)

I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet, like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Fanny, quite surprised, endeavoured to shew herself mistress of the room by her civilities, and looked at the bright bars of her empty grate with concern.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

A key was turned with the loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The crackling turned into a snapping, the sled pivoting and the runners slipping and grating several inches to the side.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

A very cheerful wood-fire was sputtering and cracking in an open grate at the further end of the apartment.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)