Ate is a monosyllabic verb form meaning to have consumed food in the past; it is homophonous with the noun 'ate' in some dialects and can function as a standard past tense verb with regular pronunciation. In everyday usage, it appears as the past tense of 'eat' or as a past participle in certain constructions, and it can also appear in phrases like 'she ate' or 'I ate earlier' with clear past-time reference.
Full pronunciation guide
