[kreyt] 
noun, verb, crat⋅ed, crat⋅ing.| 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, esp. an automobile: They're still driving around in the old crate they bought 20 years ago. |
| 4. | a quantity, esp. of fruit, that is often packed in a crate approximately 2 × 1 × 1 ft. (0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 m): a crate of oranges. |
| 5. | to pack in a crate. |
| crate (krāt) n.
To pack into a container, such as a slatted wooden case. [Latin crātis, wickerwork.] |