Word
Definition
v. to rub food against a metal tool with sharp holes to cut it into very small pieces. You usually do this with cheese or vegetables like carrots.
v. to reduce food to small shreds or fragments by rubbing it against a serrated surface.
Examples
“Please grate some cheese for the pasta.”
“The recipe says to grate the ginger finely before adding it to the hot oil for the best flavor.”
“While some chefs prefer to grate the zest directly into the batter, others recommend collecting it separately to ensure no bitter white pith is included in the mixture.”
Examples
simple
“Please grate some cheese for the pasta.”
contextual
“The recipe says to grate the ginger finely before adding it to the hot oil for the best flavor.”
complex
“While some chefs prefer to grate the zest directly into the batter, others recommend collecting it separately to ensure no bitter white pith is included in the mixture.”
Usage
The verb is transitive and typically takes a food item as its direct object.
Pitfall
I used a grater for grate the cheese
I used a grater to grate the cheese
Learners often confuse the preposition 'for' with the infinitive 'to' when expressing the purpose of a tool.
Real-World Examples
“Over time, their class differences have begun to grate.” “Grate it, chop it, stick it in tea!” Etymology
From Middle English grate, from a Medieval Latin crāta, from a Latin word for a hurdle; or Italian grata, from Latin cratis.
From Middle English graten, from Old French grater (“to scrape”) ( > French gratter), from Frankish krattōn, from Proto-Germanic krattōną. Cognate with Old High German krazzon ( > German kratzen (“to scrawl”) > Danish kradse), Icelandic krassa (“to scrawl”) and Danish kratte.
From Latin grātus (“agreeable”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/grate
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0