grave

¹ American  

[greyv] / greɪv /

noun

1. an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body.

2. any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher.

   a watery grave.

3. any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past.

   the grave of unfulfilled ambitions.

4. death.

   O grave, where is thy victory?

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idioms

1. make (one) turn / turn over in one's grave, to do something to which a specified dead person would have objected bitterly.

   This production of Hamlet is enough to make Shakespeare turn in his grave.

2. have one foot in the grave, to be so frail, sick, or old that death appears imminent.

   It was a shock to see my uncle looking as if he had one foot in the grave.

grave ² American  

[greyv, grahv] / greɪv, grɑv /

adjective

graver, gravest

1. serious or solemn; sober.

   a grave person;

   grave thoughts.

   Synonyms:

   thoughtful, staid, sedate

   Antonyms:

   carefree, frivolous

2. weighty, momentous, or important.

   grave responsibilities.

3. threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; critical.

   a grave situation;

   a grave illness.

4. Phonetics.

   1. unaccented.

   2. spoken on a low or falling pitch.

   3. Orthography. noting or having a particular diacritic (`) indicating originally a comparatively low pitch (as in Frenchpère ), distinct syllabic value (as in Englishbelovèd ), etc. (acute ).

5. (of colors) dull; somber.

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noun

1. Phonetics, Orthography. the grave accent.

grave ³ American  

[greyv] / greɪv /

verb (used with object)

graved, graven, graved, graving

1. to carve, sculpt, or engrave.

2. to impress deeply.

   graven on the mind.

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grave ⁴ American  

[greyv] / greɪv /

verb (used with object)

Nautical.

graved, graving

1. to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).

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grave ⁵ American  

[grah-vey, grah-ve] / ˈgrɑ veɪ, ˈgrɑ vɛ /

adjective

1. slow; solemn.

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adverb

1. slowly; solemnly.

grave ¹ British  

/ ɡreɪv /

adjective

1. serious and solemn

   a grave look

2. full of or suggesting danger

   a grave situation

3. important; crucial

   grave matters of state

4. (of colours) sober or dull

5. phonetics

   1. (of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient Greek) spoken on a lower or falling musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels

   2. of or relating to an accent (`) over vowels, denoting a pronunciation with lower or falling musical pitch (as in ancient Greek), with certain special quality (as in French), or in a manner that gives the vowel status as a syllable nucleus not usually possessed by it in that position (as in English agèd ) Compare acute circumflex

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noun

1. a grave accent

grave ² British  

/ ɡreɪv /

noun

1. a place for the burial of a corpse, esp beneath the ground and usually marked by a tombstone

2. something resembling a grave or resting place

   the ship went to its grave

3. a poetic term for death

4. informal to be near death

5. to do something that would have shocked or distressed (someone now dead)

   many modern dictionaries would make Dr Johnson turn in his grave

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grave ³ British  

/ ɡreɪv /

verb

1. to cut, carve, sculpt, or engrave

2. to fix firmly in the mind

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grave ⁴ British  

/ ɡreɪv /

verb

1. (tr) nautical to clean and apply a coating of pitch to (the bottom of a vessel)

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grave ⁵ British  

/ ˈɡrɑːvɪ /

adjective

1. music to be performed in a solemn manner

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grave More Idioms  

1. see dig one's own grave; from the cradle to the grave; one foot in the grave; turn in one's grave.

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Related Words

Grave, sober, solemn refer to the condition of being serious in demeanor or appearance. Grave indicates a weighty dignity, or the character, aspect, demeanor, speech, etc., of one conscious of heavy responsibilities or cares, or of threatening possibilities: The jury looked grave while studying the evidence. Sober (from its original sense of freedom from intoxication, and hence temperate, staid, sedate) has come to indicate absence of levity, gaiety, or mirth, and thus to be akin to serious and grave: as sober as a judge; a sober expression on one's face. Solemn implies an impressive seriousness and deep earnestness: The minister's voice was solemn as he announced the text.

Other Word Forms

• graveless adjective
• gravelike adjective
• gravely adverb
• graveness noun
• graver noun
• graveward adverb
• gravewards adverb
• ungravely adverb

Etymology

Origin of grave¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English græf; cognate with German Grab; grave ³

Origin of grave²

First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin gravis; akin to Greek barýs “heavy”

Origin of grave³

First recorded before 1000; Middle English graven, Old English grafan; cognate with German graben

Origin of grave⁴

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; perhaps akin to gravel

Origin of grave⁵

First recorded in 1575–85; from Italian grave, from Latin gravis “heavy”; grave ²

Explanation

A grave is the place where a body is buried. Usually, a grave is dug in the ground, and a stone with information about the deceased person marks its location. Grave is used as an adjective, too. It can describe something serious, or of great importance. If a situation is grave, it is serious and sad, like when a loved one is very sick. Grave can also refer to something that causes fear or anxiety. If you are in grave danger, your personal safety is threatened. If you have a grave personality, you are solemn and dignified and don't joke around very much.

Example Sentences

Standing at her brother's grave, Asma says she misses him.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

He turned to Hassan’s grave, his sun-grizzled face looking down at the mound of earth as he stood in silence.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

“All we can do now is take the body from where it is and put it in a numbered and marked grave for unidentified bodies so families can find them later,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

More than £23,000 was raised to repair the grave following an appeal.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

He said this with such a grave and practiced tone, the kind of voice accustomed to delivering bad news to people who are unaccustomed to accepting it.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse