Sometimes Grail any greatly desired and sought-after objective; ultimate ideal or reward.
The film's protagonist is defined by the struggle for his grail, a championship title he failed to win earlier in life.
Often the Grail Holy Grail.
Weeks pass, and none of the knights return, so King Arthur himself must quest for the Grail.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English graiel, graile, from Anglo-French grahel, grayel, Old French gräel, grel, from Medieval Latin gradālis “platter,” of uncertain origin; perhaps distantly connected to Latin crātēr “mixing bowl” ( see crater ( def. )) or crātis “wickerwork” ( see grate 1 ( def. ))
A grail is some valuable thing you search for or pursue. A golfer's holy grail might be a hole in one. While the object of any serious pursuit is commonly described as a "holy grail," many who use the term might not know its origin. The original Holy Grail is a valuable chalice, cup, or plate — often made of gold — that's sought in medieval and Arthurian legends. The influence of Christianity makes the grail "holy," originally because it was said to have been used at the Last Supper. Grail has a Medieval Latin root, gradalis, "flat dish."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nature produces few truly blue plants and minerals, making blue the holy grail of natural food dyes, said Paul Manning, chief executive of dye manufacturer Sensient Technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
Everyone treats buy-and-hold as the holy grail because they are anchored to the extraordinary run from 1982 to today.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
His tenure has delivered the Premier League title six times, as well as the holy grail of a Champions League plus three FA Cups and five Carabao Cups.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
A quest for the next big thing is always the holy grail for markets.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
“Named after the knight of the Round Table who found the grail, right? Very cool.”
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
