What does "crate" mean?
A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
Crate
/kɹeɪt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
- Grammar: crate is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: archives, armory, arsenal, attic.
- Useful contrasts: freedom, liberate, loose cargo.
- Usage evidence: Tom used a crowbar to pry open the lid of the crate.
How to use "crate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crate" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "archives" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "crate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
- 2 a rugged box (usually made of wood); used for shipping wordnet
- 3 A vehicle (car, aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) seen as unreliable. derogatory, mildly, slang
"They shook the head of the unconscious pilot and when the latter opened his eyes, blinking wildly, the other members of the family lifted up the tail of the overturned crate sufficiently high enough to enable the dazed pilot, after releasing his belt, to fall out of the cockpit head first and disengage himself from the crack-up."
- 4 the quantity contained in a crate wordnet
- 5 In the Rust programming language, a binary or library.
"And Rust never compiles modules separately, even if they're in separate files: when you build a Rust crate, you're recompiling all of its modules."
Verb
- 1 To put into a crate. transitive
"Then, in 1941, decision was reached between the Chungking and American authorities to transport these fossils to the United States for safekeeping, and they were crated and moved to a warehouse in Ch’in-huang-tao, a small port city northeast of Peking, into the custody of the U.S. Marines."
- 2 put into a crate; as for protection wordnet
- 3 To keep in a crate. transitive
Example
"Tom used a crowbar to pry open the lid of the crate."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crate"?
Common synonyms include: archives, armory, arsenal, attic, auto, autocar.
How do you use "crate" in a sentence?
Tom used a crowbar to pry open the lid of the crate.
How do you pronounce "crate"?
Pronounced /kɹeɪt/.
Etymology
From Dutch krat (“crate, large box, basket”), from Middle Dutch cratte (“basketware, mold”), from Old Dutch *kratta, *kratto (“basket”), from Proto-Germanic *kratjô, *krattijô (“basket”), from Proto-Indo-European *gretH- (“plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to bind, twist, wind”). Cognate with West Frisian kret (“wheelbarrow”), German Krätze (“basket”), Old English cræt, ceart (“cart, wagon, chariot”), Old Norse kartr (“wagon”), modern English cart. Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”). Alternatively from Latin crātis (“wickerwork”), perhaps from the same PIE root.