# ate

> English word · Verb · IPA /eɪt/ · frequency rank #3,999

## Definitions
1. simple past of eat
2. past participle of eat

## Etymology
Probably a remodelling of earlier eat by analogy with other strong verbs such as break:†brake, give:gave, speak:†spake; compare the same process in rare Middle English at (“ate”) besides more usual et.
However, the pronunciation /ɛt/ likely continues Middle English et, from Old English ǣt, from Proto-West Germanic *āt, from Proto-Germanic *ēt, with shortening as in e.g. thread.

## Easily confused with
- **aw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aw)
- **AU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-au)
- **AZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-az)
- **av** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-av)
- **ay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-ay)
- **ax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-ax)
- **ave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-ave)
- **aye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aye)
- **ATM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-atm)
- **awe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-awe)
- **axe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-axe)
- **aww** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aww)
- **ATP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-atp)
- **Ava** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-ava)
- **aux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aux)
- **att** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-att)
- **Avi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-avi)
- **AWS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aws)
- **aud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-aud)
- **ATV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ate-vs-atv)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ate