Grater or greater?
grater is a noun meaning “a tool with which one grates, especially foods such as cheese, to facilitate…”; greater is an adjective meaning “Of two (or, rarely, more than two) things: the larger in size (bigger), in…”. Use grater as a noun and greater as an adjective. They sound the same (/ˈɡɹeɪtə/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) greater is about 245 times as common as grater.
What is the difference between grater and greater?
| grater | greater | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | adjective |
| Meaning | a tool with which one grates, especially foods such as cheese, to facilitate getting small particles or shreds off a solid lump | Of two (or, rarely, more than two) things: the larger in size (bigger), in value, in importance etc The larger geographic or administrative area that encompasses or belongs to a place (especially if both share the same name) |
| Example | I'm making coleslaw; do you know where the grater is? | greater yellowlegs |
| Forms | graters | none |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɹeɪtə/ /ˈɡɹeɪtɚ/ | /ˈɡɹeɪtə/ /ˈɡɹeɪtɚ/ [ˈɡɹeɪɾɚ] |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words | 79 times per million words |
Sources: grater and greater in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of grater and greater
grater
- 1
a tool with which one grates, especially foods such as cheese, to facilitate getting small particles or shreds off a solid lump
I'm making coleslaw; do you know where the grater is?
greater
- 1
Of two (or, rarely, more than two) things: the larger in size (bigger), in value, in importance etc
greater yellowlegs
- 2
The larger geographic or administrative area that encompasses or belongs to a place (especially if both share the same name)
Greater Antilles
- 3
Including the surrounding urban areas and conurbation (of a city or other large settlement)
Greater London
- 4
Referring to a state at its fullest historical (or desired future) extent including colonies, annexed land, etc
Greater Armenia
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, grater or greater?
grater appears about once in every 3 million words; greater 79 times per million words.
grater about once in every 3 million wordsgreater 79 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).