Find the word definition

Crossword clues for bated

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
bated
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
wait with bated breath (=while feeling very anxious or excited)
▪ She waited with bated breath to see what he would say.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ From July onwards the town of Whaddon had waited with bated breath.
▪ I was waiting with bated breath for him to say something, anything, that wasn't a cliche.
▪ Neither Bradford nor Birmingham regrets entering the tourist trade - the industry waits with bated breath to see how Swindon fares.
▪ So now I wait with bated breath.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bated

Bate \Bate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bating.] [From abate.]

  1. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower.

    He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay him.
    --Locke.

  2. To allow by way of abatement or deduction.

    To whom he bates nothing of what he stood upon with the parliament.
    --South.

  3. To leave out; to except. [Obs.]

    Bate me the king, and, be he flesh and blood, He lies that says it.
    --Beau. & Fl.

  4. To remove. [Obs.]

    About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay them bare.
    --Holland.

  5. To deprive of. [Obs.]

    When baseness is exalted, do not bate The place its honor for the person's sake.
    --Herbert.

Bated

Bated \Bat"ed\, a. Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath.
--Macaulay.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
bated
  1. reduce; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath. v

  2. (en-past of: bate)

WordNet
bated
  1. adj. held back; "we watched the daring feats of the acrobats with bated breath"

  2. diminished or moderated; "our bated enthusiasm"; "his bated hopes"

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "bated".

The hawk bated, wings flapping and thrashing, and Romilly jerked, with a convulsive reflex action, and the strip of raw meat fell into the straw.

The falcon bated again, thrashing furious wings, and Romilly struggled to maintain the sense of herself, not merging into the terror and fury of the angry bird, at the same time trying to send out waves of calm.

At his voice the hawk bated again, and Romilly felt again the dreadful ache, as if her hands and arms would drop off into the straw.

At the words and movement the hawk bated again, more fiercely than before, and Romilly gasped, struggling to keep her sense of self against the fury of thrashing wings, the hunger, the blood-lust, the frenzy to break free, fly free, dash itself to death against the dark enclosing beams .

The hawk bated again in its frenzy and Romilly stepped closer, crooning, murmuring calm.

Though they strained their eyes and spoke with bated breath, never a sight of boat or canoes was obtainable for hours after the latter were swallowed up by the trees which shrouded the creek at the foot of Guanaco Hill.

The idea of the downtown hotel, the crowds that would gather outside the hotel or the studios just to stare at her, and the bodyguards in constant attendance should have been the experience of a lifetime, something to wait for with bated breath.

The commissaries had run low, there was a quiet rivalry as to which outfits should go home, and we all waited with bated breath for the final word.

Clara sat back with bated breath, mentally taking the leap into the abyss, realizing it, and the cold prudence of abstention, and the delirium of the confession.

While a crowd of inebriated Marines stood watching with bated breath, Kindrachuck lifted the schooner to his lips and began to chugalug the vile concoction.

The chums waited with bated breaths, as Perry drummed on the table impatiently.

And if he were ever to be Gunn, he needed to consummate their handfast, an action he looked forward to with bated breath.

Everyone was waiting with bated breath for Lionstone to unleash her hound on them again.

Master Haddil reached out again for the left side of the base, and the unnamed two watched with bated breath.

This fair, smooth-faced young man, whose symmetrically arranged hair gave him the air of a large and neat schoolboy, met the Assistant Commissioner's request with a doubtful look, and spoke with bated breath.