Search

to moderate or restrain:
unable to bate our enthusiasm.
to lessen or diminish; abate:
setbacks that bated his hopes.
to diminish or subside; abate.
with bated breath, with breath drawn in or held because of anticipation or suspense:
We watched with bated breath as the runners approached the finish line.
(of a hawk) to flutter its wings and attempt to escape in a fit of anger or fear.
a state of violent anger or fear.
Tanning. to soak (leather) after liming in an alkaline solution to soften it and remove the lime.
the solution used.
Historical Examples

bate Wood, however, touched his sombrero and said: “Mornin’, miss.”
The Border Legion Zane Grey

bate some expected gain for the risk you save, and say what is your price.’
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens

bate Wood had raised a warning hand to Kells, who stood up, facing the door.
The Border Legion Zane Grey

Do you think that I could be bate without allowing myself to be bate?
Lavengro George Borrow

Gen. bate rode up to our line and asked, “What command is this?”
Under the Stars and Bars Walter A. Clark

A culprit in the pillory (bate the eggs) meets with no severer exprobation.
The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb Charles Lamb

“Red an’ Gul are sleepin’ off last night’s luck,” said bate Wood.
The Border Legion Zane Grey

Mother of God, look at me tin plate that he bate me with, it is all crumbled in.
The Flying Bo’sun Arthur Mason

Tell me dis minute just what you gotter do, an I bate yo ten dollars I cn do it.
Three Little Women Gabrielle E. Jackson

Your father is to come to me, not I to him; nor yet to your fort: neither will I bite at such a bate.
The Birth of the Nation Mrs. Roger A. Pryor

verb
another word for abate
with bated breath, holding one’s breath in suspense or fear
verb
(intransitive) (of hawks) to jump violently from a perch or the falconer’s fist, often hanging from the leash while struggling to escape
verb (transitive)
to soak (skin or hides) in a special solution to soften them and remove chemicals used in previous treatments
noun
the solution used
noun
(Brit, slang) a bad temper or rage
v.

“to reduce, to lessen in intensity,” c.1300, shortening of abate (q.v.). Now only in phrase bated breath, which was used by Shakespeare in “The Merchant of Venice” (1596).

c.1300, “to contend with blows or arguments,” from Old French batre “to hit, beat, strike,” from Late Latin battere, from Latin batuere “to beat, knock” (see batter (v.)). In falconry, “to beat the wings impatiently and flutter away from the perch.” Figurative sense of “to flutter downward” attested from 1580s.