Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - literate

1. Someone who is literate is able to read and write. Over one-quarter of the adult population are not fully literate. ? illiterate ADJ 2. If you describe someone as literate, you mean that they are intelligent and well-educated, especially about literature and the arts. Scientists should be literate and articulate as well as able to handle figures... ADJ c darkgreen]approval 3. If you describe someone as literate in a particular subject, especially one that many people do not know anything about, you mean that they have a good knowledge and understanding of that subject. Head teachers need to be financially literate... ADJ: usu adv ADJ see also computer-literate