Bate

/beɪt/

Meaning & Definition

noun

The act of lessening or reducing.

The bate of the wind made it easier to navigate the boat.

verb

To reduce the force or intensity of something.

He decided to bate his enthusiasm after seeing the team's poor performance.

To lessen the amount or degree of something.

They had to bate their expectations after the initial results came in.

To take away or diminish something.

The rainy weather did not bate the crowd's excitement for the concert.

Middle English 'baten', from Old English 'bǣtan', meaning to lower or diminish.

bate one's breath

to hold one's breath in anticipation or suspense

bate the rush

to relieve or ease the rush or pressure

bate the expectation

to lower or lessen what is expected

abate

to lessen in amount, degree, or intensity

bateaux

boats (in French, contextually unrelated but phonetically similar)

bateau

a flat-bottomed boat

debate

a formal discussion on a particular topic

to masturbate

He needed to take a break to bate for a while.