In chemistry the term zincate may refer to several substances containing the element zinc:

• usually the anion ZnO₂²⁻, more properly called tetrahydroxozincate or salts thereof, such as sodium zincate Na
  ₂Zn(OH)
  ₄.
• the polymeric anion [Zn(OH)₃⁻] and its salts, for example NaZn(OH)₃· H₂O.^[1]
• an oxide containing zinc and a less electronegative element e.g. Na₂ZnO₂.^[2]

In the health supplement industry zincate may also mean a commercially available zinc supplement, typically formulated as zinc sulfate.^{[citation needed]}

Solutions prepared from dissolving zinc hydroxide or zinc oxide in a strong alkali like sodium hydroxide, which contains various zincate anions, are used in the metal plating industry, in processes such as immersion zinc plating and electroplating (electrogalvanization). Any of these techniques may be called zincate process.^[3]

In the naming of inorganic compounds, "-zincate" is a suffix that indicates that a polyatomic anion contains a central zinc atom. Examples include tetrachlorozincate, ZnCl₄²⁻, the tetrahydroxozincate, Zn(OH)₄²⁻ and tetranitratozincate, Zn(NO₃)₄²⁻. More recent recommendations (2005), that are not widely used, would call the first two ions tetrachloridozincate(2−) and tetrahydroxidozincate(2−) respectively.

• "-ate" complex