skate — to move over ice or a smooth surface wearing special boots with blades or wheels
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to move over ice or a smooth surface wearing special boots with blades or wheels
Pronunciation (IPA): /skeɪt/
Example Sentences
- My grandmother can still skate better than me at age 80!
- Learning to skate is like learning to fly on ice.
- He tried to impress his date by skating backwards but ended up in the snow pile.
skate
VERB[/skeɪt/]
to move over ice or a smooth surface wearing special boots with blades or wheels

a young person glides gracefully across the ice wearing figure skates with shiny metal blades. They push off with one foot and lean into a smooth turn, their arms extended for balance. The motion creates thin lines in the ice surface where the blades cut through. Other skaters move around the rink in the background, some wobbling as they learn. Spectators along the rink's edge watch the skaters with warm smiles and encouraging gestures. people moving over ice wearing special boots with blades, gliding smoothly across the frozen surface
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word 'skate' derives from 17th-century Dutch 'schaats', which in turn comes from Middle French 'eschace' meaning 'stilts' or 'leg support'. The term became established in English as Dutch ice-skating culture, practiced on frozen canals and rivers, gained prominence in Northern Europe.
Breakdown
Dutch 'schaats' (ice skate) ← Middle French 'eschace' (stilts, leg support), with the Dutch form developing the specialized meaning of the ice-skating implement through practical usage in 17th-century Netherlands.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My grandmother can still skate better than me at age 80!”
“Learning to skate is like learning to fly on ice.”
“He tried to impress his date by skating backwards but ended up in the snow pile.”
📚Related Words
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