groom
Americannoun
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grooms
plural
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a bridegroom.
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a man or boy in charge of horses or the stable.
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any of several officers of the English royal household.
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Archaic. a manservant.
verb (used with object)
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grooms,
present (3rd person singular)
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groomed,
past participle, past
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grooming
present participle
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to tend carefully as to person and dress; make neat or tidy.
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to clean, brush, and otherwise tend (a horse, dog, etc.).
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to prepare (a trail) for a specific use, such as skiing, biking, or hiking.
The resort is currently grooming 7 miles of cross-country ski trails for your enjoyment this winter.
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to prepare for a position, election, etc..
Both of these young goalies are being groomed for roles in the NHL.
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to condition or manipulate (a victim) emotionally over time, as through friendship, gifts, flattery, etc., in order to entrap the person in a sexually abusive or predatory relationship.
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(of an animal) to tend (itself or another) by removing dirt, parasites, or specks of other matter from the fur, skin, feathers, etc.: often performed as a social act.
noun
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a person employed to clean and look after horses
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See bridegroom
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any of various officers of a royal or noble household
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archaic a male servant or attendant
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archaic a young man
verb
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to make or keep (clothes, appearance, etc) clean and tidy
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to rub down, clean, and smarten (a horse, dog, etc)
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to train or prepare for a particular task, occupation, etc
to groom someone for the Presidency
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to win the confidence of (a victim) in order to a commit sexual assault on him or her
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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groomernoun
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groomingnoun
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regroomverb (used with object)
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groomishadjective
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nongroomingadjective
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ungroomedadjective
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groomishlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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groomsimple
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groomssimple
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have groomedperfect
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has groomedperfect
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am groomingprogressive
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are groomingprogressive
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is groomingprogressive
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have been groomingperfect progressive
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has been groomingperfect progressive
Past
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groomedsimple
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had groomedperfect
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was groomingprogressive
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were groomingprogressive
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had been groomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of groom
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English grom, grome, groum “infant boy, boy, youth, groom”; further origin obscure; akin to grow
Explanation
To groom means to take care of the appearance, whether it's plucking eyebrows or combing hair. When you spend over an hour grooming in the bathroom, combing your mustache and buffing your nails, you drive everyone else who needs to use the bathroom crazy. You can groom something besides a person. Resorts groom their golf courses and ski runs. If you own a horse, you groom it every day. Animals groom each other by picking off insects and licking at fur. You can also use groom in regards to the mind. If you are being groomed for a certain spot or position, you are being prepared to take over its activities and responsibilities. Let's hope that you will someday be groomed for a spot on an executive board. And last but not least, the man getting married at a wedding is the groom.
Vocabulary lists containing groom
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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:
That appears to limit its ability to groom itself effectively.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
If you’re close to the bride or groom, you can share more details about why you are declining.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Trinidad also drives to homes and events when invited — he recently went to a wedding and gave haircuts to the groom and his friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
In one case, an intending bride was found to have presented her brother as the groom in an attempt to benefit from the scheme.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
He struggled a little but never really tried to upset her, and he protested only meekly when she began to groom him.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
At 18 years old, Kohn recalled desperately searching for her mother in a sea of brides and grooms at the Unification Church ceremony on July 1, 1982.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
The grooms lined up beside them in navy blue suits and deep-red ties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
He grooms them, administers their daily doses of medicine by hand and recognizes their individual personalities.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
India brides and grooms prepping with weight-loss drugs.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
St. Joseph’s Prep holds itself in high moral regard and self-consciously grooms America’s future elites.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
"The National Intelligence Service currently assesses that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the successor and understands she has a younger sibling of unknown gender," the agency said, reaffirming its conclusion on succession.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Under Mitchell, Pecora showed, the nation’s largest bank had become an impeccably groomed racketeering enterprise, dressing up crooked enterprises as gilt-edged to sell their bonds and stocks to unsuspecting buyers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
A woman groomed by a predatory Met Police officer says despite receiving a substantial payout from the force, she has not had "truth or accountability" from them.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Like Bukele, de la Espriella sports a meticulously groomed beard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
He was a photogenic man, dapper and carefully groomed, with a little man’s largish head.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The Period-Piece Pixie, as depicted on-screen, is too evolved for the elaborate grooming rituals of her time—no stays, no time-consumingly arranged ringlets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Across from the main entertaining spaces sits a six-stall barn complete with an executive office, staff quarters, three grooming stations, a feed kitchen, and storage.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Servicemembers must meet waist-to-height standards and have “impeccable” grooming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Beware of lilies, which are toxic to cats; even chewing the leaves or licking pollen off their fur while grooming can be fatal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
If manners maketh man, then manner and grooming maketh poodle.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
