crate

[kreyt]

noun

1. a slatted wooden box or framework for packing, shopping, or storing fruit, furniture, glassware, crockery, etc.

2. any completely enclosed boxlike packing or shipping case.

3. Informal.,  something rickety and dilapidated, especially an automobile.

   They're still driving around in the old crate they bought 20 years ago.

4. a quantity, especially of fruit, that is often packed in a crate approximately 2 × 1 × 1 foot (0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 meters).

   a crate of oranges.

verb (used with object)

crated, crating 

1. to pack in a crate.

crate

/ kreɪt /

noun

1. a fairly large container, usually made of wooden slats or wickerwork, used for packing, storing, or transporting goods

2. slang,  an old car, aeroplane, etc

verb

1. (tr) to pack or place in a crate

Other Word Forms

• crater noun
• crateful noun
• recrate verb (used with object)
• uncrate verb (used with object)
• uncrated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of crate¹

1350–1400; 1915–20 crate for def. 3; Middle English, obscurely akin to Latin crātis wickerwork, hurdle

Word History and Origins

Origin of crate¹

C16: from Latin crātis wickerwork, hurdle

Example Sentences

"Mango diplomacy" is a familiar phrase across the subcontinent, where carefully chosen crates of the fruit can grease political deals, strengthen alliances or smooth over tense negotiations.

From BBC

They worked six days a week for minimum wage — $1.40 an hour at the time — and earned a nickel for every crate filled with about 30 to 36 cantaloupes.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Shim says his father worked in a munitions factory as a forced labourer, while his mother hammered nails into wooden ammunition crates.

From BBC

It's being released digitally and on vinyl - for all you crate diggers - as part of her Silver Collection of ongoing career-spanning special releases.

From BBC

A film that begins with a boy smuggled in a crate across the ocean ends with a message of joy and resilience.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• box 
• cage 
• carton