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View synonyms for skate

skate

1

[ skeyt ]

noun

  1. the blade of an ice skate.
  2. a skid on a lifeboat to facilitate launching from a listing ship.


verb (used without object)

, skat·ed, skat·ing.
  1. to glide or propel oneself over ice, the ground, etc., on skates.
  2. to glide or slide smoothly along.
  3. Slang. to shirk one's duty; loaf.
  4. (of the tone arm on a record player) to swing toward the spindle while a record is playing.

verb (used with object)

, skat·ed, skat·ing.
  1. to slide (a flat) across the floor of a stage.

skate

2

[ skeyt ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) skate, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) skates.
  1. any of numerous rays of the family Rajidae having paired electric organs within a long, fleshy tail and producing a distinctive egg case (a mermaid's purse ): a widespread group of more than 570 species, the largest being Beringraja binoculata big skate of Pacific coastal waters from Alaska to Baja California, known to exceed 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) in length.

skate

3

[ skeyt ]

noun

, Slang.
  1. a person; fellow:

    He's a good skate.

  2. a contemptible person.
  3. an inferior, decrepit horse; nag.

skate

1

/ skeɪt /

noun

  1. the steel blade or runner of an ice skate
  2. such a blade fitted with straps for fastening to a shoe
  3. a current collector on an electric railway train that collects its current from a third rail Compare bow collector
  4. get one's skates on
    get one's skates on to hurry


verb

  1. to glide swiftly on skates
  2. to slide smoothly over a surface
  3. skate on thin ice
    skate on thin ice to place oneself in a dangerous or delicate situation

skate

2

/ skeɪt /

noun

  1. any large ray of the family Rajidae, of temperate and tropical seas, having flat pectoral fins continuous with the head, two dorsal fins, a short spineless tail, and a long snout

skate

3

/ skeɪt /

noun

  1. slang.
    a person; fellow

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Other Words From

  • skatea·ble adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of skate1

First recorded in 1640–50; originally plural scates, from Dutch schaats (singular) “skate,” Middle Dutch schaetse “stilt” (compare Medieval Latin scatia ), of unknown origin

Origin of skate2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English scate, from Old Norse skata

Origin of skate3

First recorded in 1890–95; perhaps special use of skate 2

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Word History and Origins

Origin of skate1

C17: via Dutch from Old French éschasse stilt, probably of Germanic origin

Origin of skate2

C14: from Old Norse skata

Origin of skate3

from Scottish and northern English dialect skate, a derogatory term of uncertain origin

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. get / put one's skates on, British Informal. to make haste.
  2. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing skate

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

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Example Sentences

Yoga helped my sore muscles recover, and watching skate videos kept me inspired.

I can’t even put words to the feeling of going to a skate park and just being one person.

From Time

I also like to roller skate, ride scooters, and ride my bike on my driveway and in the park.

From Time

Oshie missed the team’s morning skate Wednesday for undisclosed reasons, but he slotted in with no apparent minute restrictions.

The pandemic brought a flood of new kids to the skate park, including the Gilbert boys, and demand for lessons more than doubled, he says.

Yeah, he wanted to skate and had never skated before, so I taught him when he was 58.

I also figure-skated competitively for about 10 years—I got to figure-skate in the show during the pageant!

We'd skate and walk over the Mile Road and skate and walk over the railroad and skate some more.

My sister Edna took one skate and I took the other, and I was so small that I put I it on right over my shoe.

Next he laced on first the right skate, with a pad of cotton under the tongue, and then the left.

I bet a feller can skate in the streeton the sidewalkalmost anywhere this morning, declared Chet, with enthusiasm.

The one shown was pivoted to a roller-skate wheel which in turn was fastened to a metal standard.

The beam was attached to the skate wheel with two small bolts which were insulated and carried two brushes as commutator contacts.

The laugh is still, the noise has fled, and the first sound of the skate on the black ice seems almost a desecration.

The slope of the bank must be descended sideways—avoid the stones concealed by snow, for they will destroy the edge of the skate.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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