Strate

Strate is not an independent entry in standard English dictionaries. Rather, it is a common substring found at the end of several words of Latin or Romance origin, and it does not carry a separate meaning on its own. The sense of “strate” is determined by the full word in which it appears.

In English, several familiar words end with the letters -strate, and each has its own distinct sense. Demonstrate means to show or prove something through reasoning or evidence. Prostrate can describe lying face down, or being overwhelmed or rendered helpless. Substrate refers to an underlying layer or base material on which other processes occur—used broadly in geology, biology (the surface on which an organism grows), and materials science.

Because “strate” is just a fragment of longer words, its pronunciation varies with the word. For example, demonstrate is pronounced de-MON-strayt, prostrate as PRO-strayt or prō-STRĀT depending on usage, and substrate as SUB-strayt. The exact meaning therefore depends on the root word rather than on an independent definition of strate itself.

See also: Strata, Stratum, related terms in Latin-derived construction. In usage, be aware that -strate words derive their meanings from their respective roots rather than from a standalone term “strate.”