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Synonyms

-ate

1 American  

  1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, its English distribution paralleling that of Latin. The form originated as a suffix added to a- stem verbs to form adjectives (separate ). The resulting form could also be used independently as a noun (advocate ) and came to be used as a stem on which a verb could be formed (separate; advocate; agitate ). In English the use as a verbal suffix has been extended to stems of non-Latin origin: calibrate; acierate .

-ate 2 American  

  1. a specialization of -ate, used to indicate a salt of an acid ending in -ic , added to a form of the stem of the element or group: nitrate; sulfate .

-ate 3 American  

  1. a suffix occurring originally in nouns borrowed from Latin, and in English coinages from Latin bases, that denote offices or functions (consulate; triumvirate; pontificate ), as well as institutions or collective bodies (electorate; senate ); sometimes extended to denote a person who exercises such a function (magistrate; potentate ), an associated place (consulate ), or a period of office or rule (protectorate ). Joined to stems of any origin, ate3 signifies the office, term of office, or territory of a ruler or official (caliphate; khanate; shogunate ).

ate 4 American  
[eyt, et] / eɪt, ɛt /

verb

  1. simple past tense of eat.

Ate 5 American  
[ey-tee, ah-tee] / ˈeɪ ti, ˈɑ ti /

noun

  1. an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it.

ATE 6 American  

  1. equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.

-ate 1 British  

suffix

  1. (forming adjectives) possessing; having the appearance or characteristics of

    fortunate

    palmate

    Latinate

  2. (forming nouns) a chemical compound, esp a salt or ester of an acid

    carbonate

    stearate

  3. (forming nouns) the product of a process

    condensate

  4. forming verbs from nouns and adjectives

    hyphenate

    rusticate
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
-ate 2 British  

suffix

  1. denoting office, rank, or a group having a certain function

    episcopate

    electorate
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Ate 3 British  
/ ˈɑːtɪ, ˈeɪtɪ /

noun

  1. Greek myth a goddess who makes men blind so that they will blunder into guilty acts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ate 4 British  
/ eɪt, ɛt /

verb

  1. the past tense of eat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of -ate1

< Latin -ātus (masculine), -āta (feminine), -ātum (neuter), equivalent to -ā- thematic vowel + -tus, -ta, -tum past participle suffix

Origin of -ate2

Probably originally in New Latin phrases, as plumbum acetātum salt produced by the action of acetic acid on lead

Origin of -ate3

< Latin -ātus (genitive -ātūs ), generalized from v. derivatives, as augurātus office of an augur ( augurā(re) to foretell by augury + -tus suffix of v. action), construed as derivative of augur augur 1

Origin of Ate5

< Greek, special use of átē reckless impulse, ruin, akin to aáein to mislead, harm

Origin of ATE6

a(utomatic) t(est) e(quipment)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We ate squirrel tonight, and it reminded me of the days when you and me you and I went hunting with slingshots, back when we were young ones.

From Literature

I dreamed last night that you came here to Chicago, and we rode my mule, Whiskey, past Potter Palmer’s emporium and ate fried bread on Lake Street.

From Literature

“The brutes I was with called him Ferrandini. Do you think he knows how to make that Italian dish we ate in Mississippi?”

From Literature

But what really set her apart was the fact that each day she ate three servings of yoghurt.

From BBC

They said that she enjoyed a broadly healthy lifestyle: she lived in the countryside, walked one hour a day, and ate an oil-rich Mediterranean diet.

From BBC

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.