| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bate1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  b t |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: bat·ed, bat·ing, bates
1. To lessen the force or intensity of; moderate: “To his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story” (George Eliot). See Usage Note at bait1. 2. To take away; subtract. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English baten, short for abaten. See abate.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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