Crate

How to spell crate

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce crate

What does crate mean?

1. nounA sturdy wooden or plastic container, usually built from slats, used to store or transport goods.
2. verbTo pack something into a crate for storage or shipping.

Crate in a sentence

• noun

  The removal team stacked every crate of books in the hallway.

• verb

  The workers had to crate the machinery before the long voyage.

• noun

  A wooden crate of oranges sat on the market stall.

• verb

  They will crate the artwork carefully for the overseas exhibition.

Where does crate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word crate comes from the Latin cratis, which meant 'wickerwork' or a 'hurdle' woven from branches, the kind of slatted frame farmers once used as fencing or for carrying loads. That sense of an open, slatted frame is exactly what survives in the modern meaning, since a wooden crate is essentially a box built from spaced slats rather than solid panels. English took the word up around the early 1600s to describe these rough wooden cases used for shipping fragile goods. The same Latin root also lies behind 'grate' (the slatted metal frame in a fireplace) and 'griddle', which helps explain why a crate is pictured as a frame with gaps rather than a sealed chest. The simple spelling is easy to remember once you see it shares the open-frame idea with grate, just beginning with a c.

How the word is built

• crate (from Latin cratis: wickerwork, hurdle)
• silent -e