grate

noun

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\ ˈgrāt

Definition of grate

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : grating sense 2

2a : a barred frame for cooking over a fire

b : a frame or bed of iron bars to hold a stove or furnace fire

c : fireplace

3 obsolete : cage, prison

grate

verb (1)

grated; grating

Definition of grate (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to furnish with a grate the lower windows were grated

grate

verb (2)

grated; grating

Definition of grate (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to reduce to small particles by rubbing on something rough grate cheese

2 : fret, irritate

3a : to gnash or grind noisily

b : to cause to make a rasping sound

c : to utter in a harsh voice

4 archaic : abrade

intransitive verb

1 : to rub or rasp noisily metal grating against metal

2 : to cause irritation : jar a voice that grates on the nerves

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Examples of grate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Arrange wing sections on the grill grate or in a broiler pan. — New York Times, "Downscale Your Super Bowl Spread," 30 Jan. 2021 Her naivete and general Americanness grate on the nerves of her French colleagues, especially her hard-shelled boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu). — Washington Post, "25 questions we have after watching ‘Emily in Paris,’ Lily Collins’s utterly baffling new Netflix series," 6 Oct. 2020 Press your sponge down on the grate-like plastic top, and the dispenser will inject it full of suds. — Popular Science, "The 8 most helpful new home products of 2020," 3 Dec. 2020 J-Lo’s conservative beige heel gets stuck in a grate, and she almost gets taken out by a rolling dumpster, but luckily, Matthew McConaughey shows up to save her, knight-style. — Emma Specter, Vogue, "27 Thoughts I Had While Rewatching The Wedding Planner," 7 Dec. 2020 After the flames wind down, the inner removable grate and the ash drain help with cleanup. — Paige Szmodis, Popular Mechanics, "The Best Portable Fire Pits to Bring From the Backyard to the Campsite," 10 Nov. 2020 The problem has been that the dice usually roll down the sewer grate. — Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, "Klay Thompson injury sucks joy out of Warriors’ big draft night," 18 Nov. 2020 The Ironwood 885 is a tall and wide smoker with two levels of cooking surface, a larger grate on the bottom and a smaller shelf on top. — Jim Rossman, Dallas News, "Smoking meat made easy: Traeger grill lets you concentrate on the meat, not the fire," 29 Oct. 2020 Place a box grater in a bowl and grate tomatoes’ cut sides on largest holes. — Kitty Greenwald, WSJ, "How to Make a Really Beautiful Rice Bowl," 23 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Pot of Greek yogurt, salt and pepper to taste, grate in some cucumber and garlic while minding your nails and fingertips. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, "If You Don’t Make Florence Pugh’s Tzatziki, Are You Even a Cinephile?," 20 Feb. 2021 Add the cream and, using a microplane or equivalent grater with very fine holes, finely grate half of the horseradish and all of the garlic into the cream. — Christian Reynoso, SFChronicle.com, "Briny clams get a kick from fresh horseradish and herbs for a rich wintery meal," 22 Jan. 2021 Into a large bowl, grate zest from lemon and squeeze in juice. — Taylor Murray, Good Housekeeping, "Chicken and Asparagus Salad With Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette," 21 Jan. 2021 Finely grate the zest of 1 lemon and squeeze the juice. — Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, "Recipe: Lemon Sugar Cookies," 9 Dec. 2020 But his sore loser routine is beginning to grate even on millions who voted for him. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Trump’s Bad Exit," 20 Dec. 2020 Using a food processor fitted with coarse grating attachment, or the large holes of a box grater, grate the potatoes. — Washington Post, "This crisp, classic potato latke recipe delivers a satisfying, celebratory crunch," 30 Nov. 2020 Loaded with an impressive variety of attachment blades, this processor can grate, shred, slice, whip, knead, and chop. — Eric Alt, Popular Science, "Best food processor: Chop your way to easy meal prep," 13 Dec. 2020 And Arians continued to grate on Brady's supporters by staunchly defending his system and being openly critical of Brady for misreading coverages and not executing the play calls better. — Mark Craig, Star Tribune, "Buccaneers' Tom Brady still wants to keep improving," 12 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.