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grave1 definition

grave (grāv)

adjective graver grav′·er, gravest grav′·est

    1. requiring serious thought; important; weighty grave doubts
    2. not light or trifling in nature or in consequence; grievous a grave sin
    1. seriously threatening health, well-being, or life; critical; dangerous a grave illness
    2. seriously contrary to what is right or desirable; extremely bad a grave fault
    3. Theol. so evil as to cause spiritual death; mortal a grave sin
  3. dignified and solemn or sedate in manner or mien
  4. somber; dull grave colors
  5. low or deep in pitch

Etymology: Fr < L gravis, heavy, weighty < IE base *gwer-, heavy, mill > quern, Gr barys, heavy, Sans gurúh, grave

Related Forms:

grave2 definition

grave (grāv)

noun

    1. a hole in the ground in which to bury a dead body
    2. any place of burial; tomb
  2. final end or death; extinction

Etymology: ME < OE græf (akin to OFris gref, Ger grab) < base of grafan, to dig: see gravethe

transitive verb graved, graven grav′en or graved, graving grav′·ing

  1. Obsolete
    1. to dig
    2. to bury
  2. Archaic
    1. to shape by carving; sculpture
    2. to engrave; incise
  3. to impress sharply and clearly; fix permanently

Etymology: ME graven < OE grafan; akin to Ger graben < IE base *ghrebh-, to scratch, scrape

grave Idioms

have one foot in the grave

to be very ill, old, or infirm; be near death

make someone turn (over) in his (or her) grave

to be or do something that would have shocked or distressed someone now dead
grave3 definition

grave (grāv)

transitive verb graved, graving grav′·ing

to clean barnacles, etc. from (the hull of a wooden ship) and coat with pitch or tar

Etymology: ME graven, prob. < OFr grave (Fr grève), beach, coarse sand (see gravel): ships were orig. beached for cleaning the hulls

grave4 definition

grave (grä′ve)

adjective, adverb

Musical Direction slowly and with solemnity

Etymology: It

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms grave idiom

medical grave definition - medical

grave Synonyms

grave

modif.

  1. Important

    momentous, weighty, consequential; see important 1.

  2. Dangerous

    critical, serious, ominous; see dangerous 1.

  3. Solemn

    serious, sober, earnest; see solemn 1. See syn. study at serious.


grave

n.

  1. A burial place

    vault, sepulcher, tomb, pit, crypt, mausoleum, catacomb, long home, burial chamber, burial pit, burial place, six feet of earth, last resting place, narrow house, place of interment, mound, barrow, cromlech, clay, cairn, tumulus, dolmen, cold mud*, pine*, wooden shroud*, pit for the dead*, charnel house*, last home*, permanent address*.

  2. Death

    dissolution, decay, last sleep; see death 2.

make one turn (over) in one's grave*

do something shocking, do something disrespectful, sin, err; see misbehave.

have one foot in the grave*

be near death, be very ill, be very old, be infirm; see dying 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

grave Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • dig: Her son even dug a grave in the garden.

Adjective modifier

  • unmarked: Jones is buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby St Mary's churchyard.

Modifies a noun

  • robber: The same place had once been grave robbers because.

Noun used with modifier

  • battlefield: Notes: 1. Arundell's original battlefield grave marker is located near the entrance to Cheltenham Cemetery.

Possessives

  • pauper: Making no attempt to solve the crime, the local authorities rapidly transfer the corpse to a pauper's grave.

Preposition: in

  • churchyard: There are two World War I war graves in the churchyard also.

Preposition: from

  • battlefield: It was enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from the battlefields of Arras and the Ancre and from other burial grounds.
grave usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

grave quotes

He had often noticed that six months'oblivion amounts to newspaper death, and that resurrection is rare. Nothing is easier, if a manwants it, thanrest, profound as the grave.

-Adams, Henry Brooks

In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow, Thou'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow; Hast so much wit, and mirth, and spleen about thee, There is no living with thee, nor without thee.

-Addison,Joseph

Ear byth egle eorla gehwylcun. The grave isghastly to every man.

-Anonymous

grave quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"grave." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/grave>

APA Style

grave. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/grave

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