What does "skate" mean?
A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
Skate
/skeɪt/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
- Grammar: skate is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bloke, boy, buck, chap.
- Useful contrasts: barefoot, crawl, fall.
- Usage evidence: It's so cold that we can skate.
How to use "skate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "skate" 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 "skate" 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 "skate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "skate" 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 "skate" is acting as adj, name, 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 "bloke" 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 "skate", 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 runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
- 2 A fish of the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea (rays) which inhabit most seas. Skates generally have small heads with protruding muzzles, and wide fins attached to a flat body.
"The fishermen crowding in the cafés were also waiting for the end of the storm, when the fish, reassured, would rise to the surface after the bait. Soles, hog fish and skate were returning from their nocturnal expeditions. Day was now breaking."
- 3 A worn-out horse.
- 4 large edible rays having a long snout and thick tail with pectoral fins continuous with the head; swim by undulating the edges of the pectoral fins wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of ice skate. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Alternative form of skite (“a mean or contemptible person”). alt-of, alternative
- 7 sports equipment that is worn on the feet to enable the wearer to glide along and to be propelled by the alternate actions of the legs wordnet
- 8 Ellipsis of roller skate. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 9 The act of skateboarding
"There's time for a quick skate before dinner."
- 10 The act of roller skating or ice skating
"The boys had a skate every morning when the lake was frozen."
- 11 A makeshift handcar. Philippines
Verb
- 1 To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates.
- 2 move along on skates wordnet
- 3 To skateboard.
- 4 To use the skating technique.
- 5 To get away with something; to be acquitted of a crime for which one is manifestly guilty. slang
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To move smoothly and easily.
"Addressing a short pass from Henderson, he always felt too smart for Mykola Matviyenko, taking a step to lure him one way; dropping his shoulder and skating in the other direction, further inside."
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to the technique of skating. not-comparable
Proper Noun
- 1 The ship of characters James "Sawyer" Ford and Kate Austen from the television series Lost. slang
"But 'Skate' fans ended the series quite disappointed in him, as it seems that even after leaving with Kate, they couldn't be together."
Example
"It's so cold that we can skate."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "skate"?
Common synonyms include: bloke, boy, buck, chap, coast, fellow.
How do you use "skate" in a sentence?
It's so cold that we can skate.
How do you pronounce "skate"?
Pronounced /skeɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English skat, scate (also schat), from Old Norse skata (“skate”). Cognate with Icelandic skata (“skate, ray”), Norwegian skate (“skate”).
Etymology 3
Origin uncertain, but probably related to skite.
Etymology 4
Blend of Sawyer + Kate.