Definition of CRATE

crate

Meanings

Plural: crates

Noun

  • a rugged box (usually made of wood); used for shipping
  • the quantity contained in a crate
  • A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
  • A vehicle (car, aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) seen as unreliable.
  • In the Rust programming language, a binary or library.

Verb

  • put into a crate; as for protection
    • "crate the paintings before shipping them to the museum"
  • To put into a crate.
  • To keep in a crate.

Origin / 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.

Synonyms

banger, beater, bucket of bolts, bucket of rust, clunker, crate, crateful, crock, flivver, hooptie, jalopy, junker, lemon, old banger, packing case, rattletrap, rustbucket, shed, shitbox, shitbucket, shitcan, shitpot, tin Lizzie, wreck

Antonyms

uncrate

Scrabble Score: 7

crate is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
crate is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
crate is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

crate is a valid Words With Friends word