bated; bating
1
: to reduce the force or intensity of : restrain
waited with bated breath
2
: to take away : deduct
That grave and orderly senior was not going to bate a jot of his dignity …—
George Eliot
George Eliot3
archaic
: to lower especially in amount or estimation
And I shall have to bate my price …—A. E. Housman
A. E. Housman4
archaic
: blunt
And now I have bated your curiosity …—J. F. Cooper
J. F. CooperExamples of bate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 25 July 2025
Who’d have thought everyone would be waiting, breath bated, for the rerelease of an album that came out nine years ago to middling reviews?
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Every time her vocals seamlessly shifted from a keen voice, sharp as a blade, to a beautiful singing voice, the audience broke out in goose bumps, breath bated.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 7 Aug. 2024
During that fleeting wait, bated breath and a thumping heartbeat are symptoms of a process that happens in the brain.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2024
Meckler will make his major league debut Monday night at Oracle Park, bating second and starting in center field against the Tampa Bay Rays.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 14 Aug. 2023
Others will have a day off work and maybe do something meaningful to honor Black people—but our breath is not bated.
—Time, 19 June 2023
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Verb
Lee’s Eve bates Athena up through a spiral parking garage tunnel and knocks her off her lightcycle.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 25 July 2025
Who’d have thought everyone would be waiting, breath bated, for the rerelease of an album that came out nine years ago to middling reviews?
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Every time her vocals seamlessly shifted from a keen voice, sharp as a blade, to a beautiful singing voice, the audience broke out in goose bumps, breath bated.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 7 Aug. 2024
During that fleeting wait, bated breath and a thumping heartbeat are symptoms of a process that happens in the brain.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2024
Meckler will make his major league debut Monday night at Oracle Park, bating second and starting in center field against the Tampa Bay Rays.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 14 Aug. 2023
Others will have a day off work and maybe do something meaningful to honor Black people—but our breath is not bated.
—Time, 19 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Bate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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