grate
/ˈɡɹeɪt/noun, verb
grate is spelled G-R-A-T-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “grate vs great” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, grate means “A horizontal metal grill through which liquid, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of grate is grates.
How many letters and syllables are in grate?
| Letters | 5: G-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is grate?
Grate appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce grate?
- US /ˈɡɹeɪt/
- British /ˈɡɹɛjt/
- Australia /ˈɡɹæɪt/
Grate has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-grate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with grate
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: great (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: great.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with grate?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as grate from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: great, targe, gater.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of grate
- grates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- grating participle, present
- grated participle, past
- more grate comparative
- most grate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A horizontal metal grill through which liquid, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.
The grate stopped the sheep from escaping from their field.
- 2
A frame or bed, or kind of basket, of iron bars, for holding fuel while burning.
- 3
A grapper, a metal ring on a lance behind the grip.
verb
- 1
To furnish with grates; to protect with a grating or crossbars.
to grate a window
- 2
To shred (things, usually foodstuffs), by rubbing across a grater.
I need to grate the cheese before the potato is cooked.
- 3
To make an unpleasant rasping sound, often as the result of rubbing against something.
- 4
To get on one's nerves; to irritate, annoy.
She’s nice enough, but she can begin to grate if there is no-one else to talk to.
- 5
To annoy.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteServing to gratify; agreeable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Rost, Gitter , reiben |
| Portuguese | grade , ralar |
| Spanish | rejilla , rallar, guayar , rechinar |
| French | râper |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does grate come from?
From Middle English grate, from a Medieval Latin crāta, from a Latin word for a hurdle; or Italian grata, from Latin cratis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).