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gram
1[ gram ]
/ græm /
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noun
a metric unit of mass or weight equal to 15.432 grains; one thousandth of a kilogram. Abbreviation: g
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Also especially British, gramme .
Origin of gram
11790–1800; <French gramme<Late Latin gramma a small weight <Greek grámma something drawn, a small weight
Words nearby gram
Other definitions for gram (2 of 7)
gram2
[ gram ]
/ græm /
noun
(in the East Indies) the chickpea used as a food for people and cattle.
any of several other beans, as the mung bean, Vigna radiata(green gram, or golden gram ), or the urd, V. mungo(black gram ).
Origin of gram
2First recorded in 1695–1705; from Portuguese grão, from Latin grānum “seed, grain, kernel”; see origin at grain
Other definitions for gram (3 of 7)
Gram
[ grahm ]
/ grɑm /
noun
(in the Volsunga Saga) the sword of Sigmund, broken by Odin, repaired by Regin, and used again by Sigurd in killing Fafnir.
Compare Balmung.
Origin of Gram
From the Old Norse word Gramr literally, angry, evil
Other definitions for gram (4 of 7)
-gram1
a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “something written,” “drawing” (epigram; diagram); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (oscillogram).
Compare -graph.
Origin of -gram
1Other definitions for gram (5 of 7)
Other definitions for gram (6 of 7)
-gram3
a combining form extracted from telegram, used in the formation of compound words that have the general sense “message, bulletin”: culturegram; electiongram; prophecy-gram.
Other definitions for gram (7 of 7)
gram.
abbreviation
grammar.
grammarian.
grammatical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use gram in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for gram (1 of 5)
gram1
/ (ɡræm) /
noun
a metric unit of mass equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. It is equivalent to 15.432 grains or 0.002 205 poundsSymbol: g
Word Origin for gram
C18: from French gramme, from Late Latin gramma, from Greek: small weight, from graphein to write
British Dictionary definitions for gram (2 of 5)
gram2
/ (ɡræm) /
noun
any of several leguminous plants, such as the beans Phaseolus mungo (black gram or urd) and P. aureus (green gram), whose seeds are used as food in India
the seed of any of these plants
Word Origin for gram
C18: from Portuguese gram (modern spelling grão), from Latin grānum grain
British Dictionary definitions for gram (3 of 5)
gram3
/ (ɡrɑːm) /
noun
(in India) a village
Word Origin for gram
Hindi
British Dictionary definitions for gram (4 of 5)
-gram
n combining form
indicating a drawing or something written or recordedhexagram; telegram
Word Origin for -gram
from Latin -gramma, from Greek, from gramma letter and grammē line
British Dictionary definitions for gram (5 of 5)
gram.
abbreviation for
grammar
grammatical
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
Scientific definitions for gram (1 of 2)
gram
[ grăm ]
A unit of mass in the metric system, equal to 0.001 kilogram or 0.035 ounce. See Table at measurement.
Scientific definitions for gram (2 of 2)
Gram
[ gräm, grăm ]
Danish bacteriologist who in 1884 developed a method of staining bacteria, called Gram's stain or Gram's dye, that is used to identify and classify bacteria, often from samples of infected body fluids. The classification, called gram-negative or gram-positive, can be useful in the initial selection of antibiotics to treat the infection.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for gram
gram
The basic unit of measurement for mass in the metric system; one cubic centimeter of water has a mass of approximately one gram.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.