# crate

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɹeɪt/ · frequency rank #15,594

## Definitions
1. A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
2. A vehicle (car, aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) seen as unreliable.
3. In the Rust programming language, a binary or library.

## Etymology
From Dutch krat (“crate, large box, basket”), from Middle Dutch cratte (“basketware, mold”), from Old Dutch *kratta, *kratto (“basket”), from Proto-Germanic *kratjô, *krattijô (“basket”), from Proto-Indo-European *gretH- (“plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to bind, twist, wind”).
Cognate with West Frisian kret (“wheelbarrow”), German Krätze (“basket”), Old English cræt, ceart (“cart, wagon, chariot”), Old Norse kartr (“wagon”), modern English cart. Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”).
Alternatively from Latin crātis (“wickerwork”), perhaps from the same PIE root.

## Easily confused with
- **CRT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crt)
- **CTE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-cte)
- **cute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-cute)
- **Cree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-cree)
- **cray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-cray)
- **crit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crit)
- **crazy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crazy)
- **crime** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crime)
- **crude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crude)
- **crawl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crawl)
- **crave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crave)
- **crore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crore)
- **craze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-craze)
- **Crete** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crete)
- **Crewe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crewe)
- **crème** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-creme)
- **Croke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-croke)
- **crone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-crone)
- **Croat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-croat)
- **create** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crate-vs-create)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ccrate`, `craet`, `cratte`, `crrate`, `crtae`, `rcate`

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