gravel

American  

[grav-uhl] / ˈgræv əl /

noun

1. small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand.

2. Pathology.

   1. multiple small calculi formed in the kidneys.

   2. the disease characterized by such concretions.

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verb (used with object)

graveled, graveling, gravelled, gravelling

1. to cover with gravel.

2. to bring to a standstill from perplexity; puzzle.

3. Informal. to be a cause of irritation to.

4. Obsolete. to run (a ship) aground, as on a beach.

adjective

1. harsh and grating.

   a gravel voice.

gravel British  

/ ˈɡrævəl /

noun

1. an unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments that is coarser than sand

2. geology a mixture of rock fragments with diameters in the range 4–76 mm

3. pathol small rough calculi in the kidneys or bladder

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verb

1. to cover with gravel

2. to confound or confuse

3. informal to annoy or disturb

Other Word Forms

• gravelish adjective
• ungraveled adjective
• ungravelled adjective
• well-graveled adjective
• well-gravelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of gravel

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French gravele, diminutive of grave sandy shore, perhaps < Celtic; grave ⁴, growan

Example Sentences

He treks the gravel path behind the farmhouse to a small pasture tucked between rows of corn and soybeans.

From The Wall Street Journal

What should be sweet and chewy is hard and tastes vaguely like gravel.

From Literature

There was standing water on the gravel road, but not nearly as much as there had been on the highway.

From Literature

At the end of a gravel road, a few children played outdoors, rosy-cheeked in the bitter cold, one wearing a Spiderman woolly hat.

From Barron's

While German municipalities used to allow citizens to sprinkle salt on frozen walkways, this was banned years ago, in favour of just gravel, as the corrosive salt is known to attack the roots of trees.

From Barron's

Related Words

• sand
• shale