grating

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air
noun a frame of iron bars to hold a fire
noun optical device consisting of a surface with many parallel grooves in it; disperses a beam of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) into its wavelengths to produce its spectrum

From grat(e) + -ing.

The grating did not stir. — Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
The grating went into its place. — The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition, Rudyard Kipling
I heard the grating of her heavy door. — Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories, Unknown

grate

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