high-grade

[hahy-greyd]

adjective

1. of excellent or superior quality.

2. (of ore) yielding a relatively large amount of the metal for which it is mined.

verb (used with object)

high-graded, high-grading 

1. to steal (rich ore) from a mine.

Other Word Forms

• high-grader noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of high-grade¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

It's "a bit sad" to see high-grade matcha used in cooking - where its delicate flavour is often lost - or stockpiled for resale, said Ms Mori.

From BBC

County Sanitation Districts operate the Tulare Lake Compost facility, which processes sewage sludge and agricultural waste to produce high-grade compost.

From Los Angeles Times

“There was a significantly increased risk of a possible Achilles tear due to him already having the high-grade calf strain, regardless of what the ‘data shows.’

From Los Angeles Times

Chhattisgarh, for instance, is India's sole producer of tin concentrates and moulding sand, and a leading source of coal, dolomite, bauxite and high-grade iron ore, according to the ministry of mines.

From BBC

A Gleason score of nine means his illness is classified as "high-grade" and the cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK.

From BBC

Related Words

• state-of-the-art 
• top-of-the-line