gravel
Americannoun
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small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand.
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Pathology.
-
multiple small calculi formed in the kidneys.
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the disease characterized by such concretions.
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verb (used with object)
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gravels,
present (3rd person singular)
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graveled,
past participle, past
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gravelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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graveling,
present participle
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gravelling
present participle (especially British)
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to cover with gravel.
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to bring to a standstill from perplexity; puzzle.
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Informal. to be a cause of irritation to.
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Obsolete. to run (a ship) aground, as on a beach.
adjective
noun
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an unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments that is coarser than sand
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geology a mixture of rock fragments with diameters in the range 4–76 mm
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pathol small rough calculi in the kidneys or bladder
verb
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to cover with gravel
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to confound or confuse
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informal to annoy or disturb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gravelishadjective
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ungraveledadjective
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ungravelledadjective
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well-graveledadjective
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well-gravelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gravelsimple
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gravelssimple
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have graveledperfect
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have gravelledperfect
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has graveledperfect
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has gravelledperfect
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am gravelingprogressive
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am gravellingprogressive
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are gravelingprogressive
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are gravellingprogressive
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is gravelingprogressive
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is gravellingprogressive
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have been gravelingperfect progressive
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have been gravellingperfect progressive
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has been gravelingperfect progressive
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has been gravellingperfect progressive
Past
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graveledsimple
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gravelledsimple
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had graveledperfect
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had gravelledperfect
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was gravelingprogressive
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was gravellingprogressive
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were gravelingprogressive
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were gravellingprogressive
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had been gravelingperfect progressive
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had been gravellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gravel
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French gravele, diminutive of grave sandy shore, perhaps < Celtic; cf. grave 4, growan
Explanation
Gravel is very small, irregular pieces of rock and stone. Your gravel driveway might crunch under your boots as you walk to the mailbox. Roads, paths, walkways, and yards are all sometimes paved with gravel, which is a relatively inexpensive material to use for marking areas and preventing the growth of weeds and other plants. Gravel is more rough and rocky than sand, and smaller than stones. The word gravel comes from the French word gravele, "gravel or sand," which in turn comes from grave, "seashore or sand." The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root may be ghreu, "to rub or grind."
Vocabulary lists containing gravel
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Can You Dig It? Words for Dirt and Soil
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Leclerc forced Hamilton into the gravel at the first chicane at Monza on Sunday, and then crashed two laps later.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
From a sunny gravel seating area at Psagot winery, the Palestinian village of Mikhmas could be seen on the neighbouring hillside.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
We got out at the northwestern edge of the lagoon, where there are swaths of land that have been churned up by heavy machinery, stretches of gravel, and remnants of fencing.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally lay in the gravel beside 17 Mile Drive on California’s Monterey Peninsula, where I had dropped it moments before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Coal swiped a handful of gravel from the ground and hefted it in his palm.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
"Especially species that rely on more natural gravels and variation within the channel - that's the benefit of the meander."
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
"As such, sand and gravels underpin our modern economies, and also are key in many aspects of the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Best said.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2024
"This study is the first-ever report of thiamine compounds in salmon spawning rivers and the associated gravels where salmon spawn," Suffridge said.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2024
“Because that tells us the flow pattern, and where there was energy at one particular time. You ask: Where did this water slow down? How are the gravels laid out?”
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023
Other hard rocks such as chert, quartzite, felsite, granite, sandstone and volcanic rocks very frequently are largely represented in gravels, while coal, limestone and shale are far less common.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various
Passersby and fellow diners do not seem to notice anything special about this bald, plainly dressed man with the graveled voice, though at least some likely know about his books.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2021
Seventeen years later, the park includes graveled walking trails equipped with interpretive signs and kiosk exhibits telling the story of those who built the mile-long tunnel with hand tools and explosives between 1870 and 1872.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 13, 2020
“For the Navajo Nation and Indian Country,” Damon said, “the census determines whether your dirt roads get graveled or paved, or whether your people move from dirt floors to a solid foundation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2019
Winky the cat follows Ada down a graveled path, beyond the barn, past the pony carts, past old apple, pear and peach trees and watches Ada gather fuel for the fire.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2017
"I didn't know . . . please . . ." "Send Dr. Bledsoe to me," he said, turning away and swinging up the graveled path to the building.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
He said the road was gravelled and changes were made to street signs and lampposts to transport them back to the 1920s.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2022
El Mayor has the biggest diaspora, and conditions remain basic: there is a hodgepodge of improvised houses and old American trailers divided by sandy gravelled roads, barbed-wire fences, and drooping salty pines.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 22, 2019
With a voice as gravelled as a churning cement mixer, he is still sprightly and genial at 80.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 16, 2017
We walk down the wide, gravelled drive past majestic chestnut trees to see a typical bedroom in the new unit - the chateau's former laundry house.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2016
The tall gray motor-buses were the only life of the square except for the pigeons and the man with a hose who sprinkled the gravelled square and watered the streets.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
They spent tens of thousands of dollars clearing brush around the property, graveling their driveway and even installing a concrete roof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2022
What of the old, graveling question of Polish boundaries?
From Time Magazine Archive
But after 30 years of marriage, in 1953, she divorced him, charging that he left her "abandoned and alone" while working and graveling "to remote places in the world."
From Time Magazine Archive
It was late afternoon before Jon finished graveling the paths.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The State Highway Commission has set aside funds for graveling this section preparatory to surfacing.
From Third Biennial Report of the Oregon State Highway Commission Covering the Period December 1st, 1916 to November 30th, 1918 by S. Benson
As for gravelling, and walling, and digging, though I am not much delighted with them, yet something, indeed much, must be allowed to every man's taste.
From Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 The Works of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D., in Nine Volumes by Samuel Johnson
If the same establishment is used by a number of flock-masters, gravelling will always be necessary.
From Sheep, Swine, and Poultry Embracing the History and Varieties of Each; The Best Modes of Breeding; Their Feeding and Management; Together with etc. by Robert Jennings
Mr. William Crone, contractor for gravelling the streets of the town, was unfortunately drowned on Saturday last.
From Toronto of Old by Henry Scadding
Previous to this gravelling, the land was a stiff, obdurate clay nearly to the surface.
From Essays in Natural History and Agriculture by Thomas Garnett
What pleasure have we taken in planting and pulling up, digging and scattering, watering and draining, turfing and gravelling!
From Anna St. Ives by Thomas Holcroft
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
