Meaning

(transitive) To reduce the force of something; to abate..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To reduce the force of something; to abate.
2. (transitive) To restrain, usually with the sense of being in anticipation
3. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To cut off, remove, take away.
4. (archaic, transitive) To leave out, except, bar.
5. To waste away.
6. To deprive of.
7. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower.
8. To allow by way of abatement or deduction.

Example Sentences

Ah, left ſome Thorn ſhoul'd pierce thy tender Foot, / Or thou ſhoul'dſt fall in flying my purſuit! / To ſharp uneven Ways thy ſteps decline; / Abate thy Speed, and I will bate of mine.

[…] and to his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story of the stroke with the willow wand.

Also about Autumne bate the earth from about the roots of Olives, and lay them bare, but in stead thereof put good mucke thereto.

Nay, if he be of a proud humour, […] he will not Bate an Ace of abſolute certainty, but however doubtful or improbable the thing is, coming f[r]om him it muſt go for an indiſputable truth.

Bate the King, and be he fleſh and blood, / He lyes that ſaies it, thy mother at fifteen / Was black and ſinful to her.

Bate (I beſeech you) widdow Dido.

Bardoll, am I not falne away vilely ſince this laſt action? do I not bate? do I not dwindle? Why, my skinne hangs about me like an old Ladies looſe gowne.

When baseness is exalted, do not bate / The place its honour for the person's sake; […]

Word Forms

• bates
• bating
• bated

Related Words

When Should You Use Bate?

Use bate when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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