Synonyms

grader

American

[grey-der] / ˈgreɪ dər /

noun

a person or thing that grades.
a pupil of a specified grade at school.

a fourth grader.
a machine for grading.

grader British

/ ˈɡreɪdə /

noun

a person or thing that grades
a machine, either self-powered or towed by a tractor, that levels earth, rubble, etc, as in road construction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of grader

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; grade + -er ¹

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.

Jaime Alvarez, an 11th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, walked out of class in the morning and took the bus downtown with his friends.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

As an eighth grader, when she served as a math tutor, Miss Nenna thought about what went into becoming an effective teacher.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The 43-year-old knows Estonian and helps her daughter with her studies, but the first grader confuses Russian and Estonian letters.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

Tenth grader Arnoldo Bazan and his father were getting McDonald’s before school when their car was pulled over by unmarked vehicles.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

Samira was a senior at Lynbrook High School, and from the moment I enrolled as a ninth grader, her protective-older-sibling instincts kicked in and she took me under her wing.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023