grade
a degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity: the best grade of paper.
a class of persons or things of the same relative rank, quality, etc.
a step or stage in a course or process.
a single division of a school classified according to the age or progress of the pupils. In the U.S., public schools are commonly divided into twelve grades below college.
the pupils in such a division.
(the) grades. elementary school: He first began teaching in the grades.
a letter, number, or other symbol indicating the relative quality of a student's work in a course, examination, or special assignment; mark.
a classification or standard of food based on quality, size, etc.: grade A milk.
inclination with the horizontal of a road, railroad, etc., usually expressed by stating the vertical rise or fall as a percentage of the horizontal distance; slope.
Building Trades.Also called grade line. the level at which the ground intersects the foundation of a building.
an animal resulting from a cross between a parent of ordinary stock and one of a pure breed.
Mathematics. grad2.
to determine the grade of.
to assign a grade to (a student's work); mark: I graded forty tests last night.
to cause to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another.
to reduce to a level or to practicable degrees of inclination: to grade a road.
to cross (an ordinary or low-grade animal) with an animal of a pure or superior breed.
to incline; slant or slope: The road grades steeply for a mile.
to be of a particular grade or quality.
to pass by degrees from one color or shade to another; blend: See how the various colors grade into one another.
grade up, to improve (a herd, flock, etc.) by breeding with purebreds.
Idioms about grade
at grade,
on the same level: A railroad crosses a highway at grade.
(of a stream bed) so adjusted to conditions of slope and the volume and speed of water that no gain or loss of sediment takes place.
make the grade, to attain a specific goal; succeed: He'll never make the grade in medical school.
up to grade, of the desired or required quality: This shipment is not up to grade.
Origin of grade
1Other words for grade
Other words from grade
- mis·grade, verb, mis·grad·ed, mis·grad·ing.
- mis·grad·ed, adjective
- mul·ti·grade, adjective
- o·ver·grade, verb (used with object), o·ver·grad·ed, o·ver·grad·ing.
- pre·grade, verb (used with object), pre·grad·ed, pre·grad·ing, noun
- re·grade, verb (used with object), re·grad·ed, re·grad·ing.
- un·grad·ed, adjective
- well-graded, adjective
Other definitions for -grade (2 of 2)
a combining form meaning “walking, moving,” in the manner or by the means specified by the initial element: plantigrade.
Origin of -grade
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use grade in a sentence
But truth be told, I never came close to mastering the language despite my excellent grades.
After all, who needs good grades to simply engage in traditional charity work—like feeding the poor or supporting their churches?
“How it is” includes his grades, getting him to practices, games, summer tournaments, and any and all extracurricular activities.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own | Robert Silverman | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOr a select few can boost their grades by braiding their armpit hair and fighting the patriarchy.
The correlation is especially robust in the lower grades, when students are in their formative years.
How a 1973 Supreme Court Decision Has Contributed to Our Inequality | Geoffrey R. Stone | May 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He rapidly rose through the various grades, until he finally held the chief command of the army as lieutenant-general.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeAfter cobbing, great care is required in sorting the ore into the respective grades of Nos. 1, 2, and 3.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesThese may be again classified under many different heads, as there are many kinds and grades of each.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Few and rare are they, and great is the price of the higher grades thereof.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.There are but few grades of Manilla cigars, and most of them are solid and well wrapped.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
British Dictionary definitions for grade (1 of 2)
/ (ɡreɪd) /
a position or degree in a scale, as of quality, rank, size, or progression: small-grade eggs; high-grade timber
a group of people or things of the same category
mainly US a military or other rank
a stage in a course of progression
a mark or rating indicating achievement or the worth of work done, as at school
US and Canadian a unit of pupils of similar age or ability taught together at school
US and Canadian
a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
Also called: gradient a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a right angle or 0.9 degree
stockbreeding
an animal with one purebred parent and one of unknown or unimproved breeding
(as modifier): a grade sheep Compare crossbred (def. 2), purebred (def. 2)
linguistics one of the forms of the vowel in a morpheme when this vowel varies because of gradation
at grade
on the same level
(of a river profile or land surface) at an equilibrium level and slope, because there is a balance between erosion and deposition
make the grade informal
to reach the required standard
to succeed
(tr) to arrange according to quality, rank, etc
(tr) to determine the grade of or assign a grade to
(intr) to achieve or deserve a grade or rank
to change or blend (something) gradually; merge
(tr) to level (ground, a road, etc) to a suitable gradient
(tr) stockbreeding to cross (one animal) with another to produce a grade animal
Origin of grade
1British Dictionary definitions for -grade (2 of 2)
indicating a kind or manner of movement or progression: plantigrade; retrograde
Origin of -grade
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for grade
[ grād ]
The degree of inclination of a slope, road, or other surface.
A grouping of organisms done purely on the basis of shared features and without regard to evolutionary relationships. Grades may include organisms that do not share a common ancestor, or may exclude some organisms having the same common ancestor as the other organisms in the grade. For this reason, many taxonomists do not accept grades as formal classifications. The class Reptilia (reptiles) is a grade since it includes dinosaurs but not birds, even though birds are descended from dinosaurs. Compare clade.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with grade
see make the grade.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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