Meanings
grater1
plural graters
- a tool with which one grates, especially foods such as cheese, to facilitate getting small particles or shreds off a solid lump
I'm making coleslaw; do you know where the grater is?
1 more example
As she ran on her numerous errands Jessamy found that if she did not stop to think, she knew all kinds of odd little things that the other Jessamy must have learned, such as where the nutmeg grater lived, and which was the potato peeling knife.
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 115
Grater2
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
grater · noun
- Old Frenchgrateor
- Englishgrater
From Old French grateor. See grate. By surface analysis, grate (“to scrape, etc.”) + -er.
More words from Old French
Full word history & related roots →Grater · proper noun
- Middle High Germangrede“granary, warehouse”
- GermanGräter
- Old Frenchgrateor“one who grates”
- EnglishGrater
Two main origins: * From Old French grateor (“one who grates”), hence possibly an occupational surname for a furbisher. * Borrowed from German Gräter, an occupational surname for a worker in a granary or warehouse, from Middle High German grede (“granary, warehouse”).
More words from Old French, German, Middle High German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek κνῆστις, κατάνη
- κνῆστις (knêstis)a tool with which one grates
- κατάνη (katánē)a tool with which one grates
Arabic مِبْشَرَة
- مِبْشَرَة (mibšara)a tool with which one grates
Bulgarian ренде, стъргало
- ренде (rende)a tool with which one grates
- стъргало (stărgalo)a tool with which one grates
Catalan ratllador
- ratlladora tool with which one grates
Chinese Mandarin 礤床, 擦子
- 礤床 (cǎchuáng)a tool with which one grates
- 擦子 (cǎzi)a tool with which one grates
- 擦菜板 (cǎcàibǎn)a tool with which one grates
- 礤 (cǎ)a tool with which one grates
Czech struhadlo
- struhadloa tool with which one grates
Danish rivejern
- rivejerna tool with which one grates
Dutch rasp
- raspa tool with which one grates
Esperanto kuireja raspilo, raspilo
- kuireja raspiloa tool with which one grates
- raspiloa tool with which one grates
Estonian riiv
- riiva tool with which one grates
Finnish riivinrauta, raastinrauta
- riivinrautaa tool with which one grates
- raastinrautaa tool with which one grates
- raastina tool with which one grates
French râpe
- râpea tool with which one grates
German Reibe, Küchenreibe
- Reibea tool with which one grates
- Küchenreibea tool with which one grates
Greek τρίφτης
- τρίφτης (tríftis)a tool with which one grates
Hebrew פֻּמְפִּיָּה, מגרדת
- פֻּמְפִּיָּהa tool with which one grates
- מגרדתa tool with which one grates
- מגרדהa tool with which one grates
- מגררתa tool with which one grates
Hindi कद्दूकस
- कद्दूकस (kaddūkas)a tool with which one grates
Hungarian reszelő
- reszelőa tool with which one grates
Icelandic rifjárn
- rifjárna tool with which one grates
Italian grattugia
- grattugiaa tool with which one grates
Japanese 卸し金
- 卸し金 (oroshigane)a tool with which one grates
Korean 강판
- 강판 (gangpan)a tool with which one grates
Latin rādula
- rādulaa tool with which one grates
Lithuanian trintuvė
- trintuvėa tool with which one grates
Norwegian Bokmål rivjern, rasp
- rivjerna tool with which one grates
- raspa tool with which one grates
Persian رنده
- رنده (rande)a tool with which one grates
Polish tarka
- tarkaa tool with which one grates
Portuguese ralador
- raladora tool with which one grates
Romanian răzătoare
- răzătoarea tool with which one grates
Russian тёрка
- тёрка (tjórka)a tool with which one grates
Scottish Gaelic sgrìoban
- sgrìobana tool with which one grates
Slovak strúhadlo, strúhatko
- strúhadloa tool with which one grates
- strúhatkoa tool with which one grates
Spanish rallador, ralladora
- ralladora tool with which one grates
- ralladoraa tool with which one grates
Swedish rivjärn
- rivjärna tool with which one grates
Tagalog gadgaran
- gadgarana tool with which one grates
Turkish rende
- rendea tool with which one grates
Ukrainian терту́шка, те́ртка
- терту́шка (tertúška)a tool with which one grates
- те́ртка (tértka)a tool with which one grates
Vietnamese bàn mài
- bàn màia tool with which one grates
Yiddish ריב אייזן
- ריב אייזן (rib eyzn)a tool with which one grates
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with grater
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
grater. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grater
“grater.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grater. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grater,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grater.
Source: grater on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.