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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

skate.

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.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/skeɪt/
  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. Ellipsis of ice skate.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
  3. Ellipsis of roller skate.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
  4. The act of skateboarding

    There's time for a quick skate before dinner.
  5. The act of roller skating or ice skating

    The boys had a skate every morning when the lake was frozen.
  6. A makeshift handcar.

    Philippines
Where this word comes from

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”).

verb/skeɪt/
  1. To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates.

  2. To skateboard.

  3. To use the skating technique.

  4. To get away with something; to be acquitted of a crime for which one is manifestly guilty.

    slang
  5. To move smoothly and easily.

Where this word comes from

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”).

adj/skeɪt/
  1. Pertaining to the technique of skating.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/skeɪt/
  1. 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.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English skat, scate (also schat), from Old Norse skata (“skate”). Cognate with Icelandic skata (“skate, ray”), Norwegian skate (“skate”).

noun/skeɪt/
  1. A worn-out horse, a nag, a jade.

  2. Alternative form of skite (“a mean or contemptible person”).

    alt-of · alternative
Where this word comes from

Origin uncertain, but probably related to skite.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.