skate1

 
Pronunciation: /skeɪt/

noun

  • an ice skate or roller skate: everyone was on skates
  • short for skateboard
  • a device, typically with wheels on the underside, used to move a heavy or unwieldy object.

verb

[no object]
  • 1move on ice skates or roller skates in a gliding fashion: the boys were skating on the ice
  • [with object] perform (a specified figure) on skates: double-eight figures skated entirely on one foot
  • ride on a skateboard.
  • 2 (skate over/round/around) pass over or refer only fleetingly to (a subject or problem): she seemed to skate over the next part of her story
  • 3 (skate through) make quick and easy progress through: he admits he had expected to skate through the system

Phrases

get one's skates on

British informal hurry up: I’ll tell him to get his skates on

Derivatives

skater

noun

Origin:

mid 17th century (originally as the plural scates): from Dutch schaats (singular but interpreted as plural), from Old French eschasse 'stilt'