Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

skate

 - 10 dictionary results
Skate Canada recap
Pics, highlights and results from world's top figure skaters!
www.universalsports.com

skate

1  [skeyt] noun, verb, skat⋅ed, skat⋅ing.
–noun
1. ice skate (def. 1).
2. roller skate.
3. the blade of an ice skate.
4. a skid on a lifeboat to facilitate launching from a listing ship.
–verb (used without object)
5. to glide or propel oneself over ice, the ground, etc., on skates.
6. to glide or slide smoothly along.
7. Slang. to shirk one's duty; loaf.
8. (of the tone arm on a record player) to swing toward the spindle while a record is playing.
–verb (used with object)
9. to slide (a flat) across the floor of a stage.
—Idioms
10. get or put one's skates on, British Informal. to make haste.
11. skate on thin ice, to be or place oneself in a risky or delicate situation: Taking a public stand on the question would be skating on thin ice.
Use skate in a Sentence
Origin:
1640–50; orig. pl. scates < D schaats (sing.) skate, MD schaetse stilt (cf. ML scatia) < ?

Related forms:
skate⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Skate Canada recap
Pics, highlights and results from world's top figure skaters!
www.universalsports.com

skate

2  [skeyt]
–noun, plural (especially collectively) skate, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) skates.
any of several rays of the genus Raja, usually having a pointed snout, as R. binoculata (big skate), inhabiting waters along the Pacific coast of the U.S., growing to a length of 8 ft. (2.4 m).
Origin:
1300–50; ME scate < ON skati

skate

3  [skeyt]
–noun Slang.
1. a person; fellow: He's a good skate.
2. a contemptible person.
3. an inferior, decrepit horse; nag.
Origin:
perh. special use of skate 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To skate
skate 1   (skāt)   
n.  

  1. An ice skate.

  2. A roller skate.

  3. A skateboard.

  4. The act or a period of skating or skateboarding.

intr.v.   skat·ed, skat·ing, skates

  1. To glide or move along on or as if on skates.

  2. To ride or perform stunts on a skateboard.

  3. Informal To act in an irresponsible or superficial manner.


[From Dutch schaats, stilt, skate (taken as pl.), from Middle Dutch schaetse, from Old North French escache, stilt, perhaps of Germanic origin.]
skate 2   (skāt)   
n.  Any of various rays of the genus Raja, having a flattened body and greatly expanded pectoral fins that extend around the head.

[Middle English scate, from Old Norse skata.]
skate 3   (skāt)   
n.  

  1. A fellow; a person.

  2. A decrepit horse; a nag.


[Perhaps alteration of dialectal skite, contemptible person; see blatherskite.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
skate

  1. n.
    a drinking bout. : He's off on another three-day skate.
  2. n.
    a drunkard; a person on a drinking spree. : A couple of skates celebrating the new year ran into my car.
  3. n.
    something really easy. : The test was a skate!
  4. in.
    to get drunk. : Let's go out and skate, okay?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

skate  (1)
"fish," c.1340, from O.N. skata, of unknown origin.

skate  (2)
"ice skate or roller skate," 1662, skeates "ice skates" (the custom was brought to England after the Restoration by exiled followers of Charles II who had taken refuge in Holland), from Du. schaats (singular, mistaken in Eng. as plural), from M.Du. schaetse, from O.N.Fr. escache "a stilt, trestle," from O.Fr. eschace "stilt" (Fr. échasse), from Frank. *skakkja "stilt" (cf. Fris. skatja "stilt"), perhaps lit. "thing that shakes or moves fast" and related to root of O.E. sceacan "to vibrate" (see shake). Or perhaps the Du. word is connected to M.L.G. schenke, O.E. scanca "leg" (see shank). Sense alteration in Du. from "stilt" to "skate" is not clearly traced. The verb is attested from 1696; U.S. slang sense of "to get away with something" is attested from 1945.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

skate

In addition to the idiom beginning with skate, also see cheap skate; on thin ice, skate.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see skate on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way