grater

Everyday

A kitchen tool with many small sharp-edged holes, used to grate cheese, vegetables or other food into small pieces. tree →

In the lessons

In cooking and food technology lessons it is a basic kitchen tool; a «box grater» has four sides with different hole sizes, a «fine grater» or «zester» makes tiny bits. Safety lesson: the holes are sharp, so hold the food firmly, keep fingers clear and stop when the piece gets small.

Examples

• Pass me the cheese grater, please. tree →
• Our grater has four sides with different holes. tree →
• Use the fine side of the grater for lemon peel. tree →
• I cut my finger on the grater once, so now I go slowly. tree →
• Wash the grater with a brush, not your hand. tree →
• Dad grated the potatoes on the big grater for hash browns. tree →

Note

Do not mix up with «greater» (bigger, more), which sounds the same: «5 is greater than 3», but «the cheese grater». Countable: «a grater, two graters». The «-er» ending here means «a tool that does it», like «opener», «peeler».