Dictionary.com

grave

1
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: grave / graved / graven / gravest on Thesaurus.com

noun
an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body.
any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher: a watery grave.
any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past: the grave of unfulfilled ambitions.
death: O grave, where is thy victory?
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Idioms about grave

    have one foot in the grave, to be so frail, sick, or old that death appears imminent: It was a shock to see my uncle looking as if he had one foot in the grave.
    make (one) turn / turn over in one's grave, to do something to which a specified dead person would have objected bitterly: This production of Hamlet is enough to make Shakespeare turn in his grave.

Origin of grave

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English græf; cognate with German Grab; see grave3

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

graveless, adjectivegravelike, adjectivegraveward, gravewards, adverb, adjective

Other definitions for grave (2 of 5)

grave2
[ greyv; for 4, 6 also grahv ]
/ greɪv; for 4, 6 also grɑv /

adjective, grav·er, grav·est for 1-3, 5.
serious or solemn; sober: a grave person;grave thoughts.
weighty, momentous, or important: grave responsibilities.
threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; critical: a grave situation;a grave illness.
Phonetics.
  1. unaccented.
  2. spoken on a low or falling pitch.
  3. Orthography. noting or having a particular diacritic (`) indicating originally a comparatively low pitch (as in French père), distinct syllabic value (as in English belovèd), etc. (opposed to acute).
(of colors) dull;somber.
noun
Phonetics, Orthography. the grave accent.

Origin of grave

2
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin gravis; akin to Greek barýs “heavy”

synonym study for grave

1. Grave, sober, solemn refer to the condition of being serious in demeanor or appearance. Grave indicates a weighty dignity, or the character, aspect, demeanor, speech, etc., of one conscious of heavy responsibilities or cares, or of threatening possibilities: The jury looked grave while studying the evidence. Sober (from its original sense of freedom from intoxication, and hence temperate, staid, sedate) has come to indicate absence of levity, gaiety, or mirth, and thus to be akin to serious and grave: as sober as a judge; a sober expression on one's face. Solemn implies an impressive seriousness and deep earnestness: The minister's voice was solemn as he announced the text.

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

gravely, adverbgraveness, nounun·grave·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH grave

gravely , gravelly

Other definitions for grave (3 of 5)

grave3
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /

verb (used with object), graved,grav·en or graved,grav·ing.
to carve, sculpt, or engrave.
to impress deeply: graven on the mind.

Origin of grave

3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English graven, Old English grafan; cognate with German graben

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

graver, noun

Other definitions for grave (4 of 5)

grave4
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /

verb (used with object), graved, grav·ing.Nautical.
to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).

Origin of grave

4
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; perhaps akin to gravel

Other definitions for grave (5 of 5)

grave5
[ grah-vey; Italian grah-ve ]
/ ˈgrɑ veɪ; Italian ˈgrɑ vɛ /
Music.

adjective
adverb

Origin of grave

5
First recorded in 1575–85; from Italian grave, from Latin gravis “heavy”; see grave2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grave in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grave (1 of 5)

grave1
/ (ɡreɪv) /

noun
a place for the burial of a corpse, esp beneath the ground and usually marked by a tombstoneRelated adjective: sepulchral
something resembling a grave or resting placethe ship went to its grave
the grave a poetic term for death
have one foot in the grave informal to be near death
to make someone turn in his grave or to make someone turn over in his grave to do something that would have shocked or distressed (someone now dead)many modern dictionaries would make Dr Johnson turn in his grave

Word Origin for grave

Old English græf; related to Old Frisian gref, Old High German grab, Old Slavonic grobǔ; see grave ³

British Dictionary definitions for grave (2 of 5)

grave2
/ (ɡreɪv) /

adjective
serious and solemna grave look
full of or suggesting dangera grave situation
important; crucialgrave matters of state
(of colours) sober or dull
phonetics
  1. (of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient Greek) spoken on a lower or falling musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels
  2. of or relating to an accent (`) over vowels, denoting a pronunciation with lower or falling musical pitch (as in ancient Greek), with certain special quality (as in French), or in a manner that gives the vowel status as a syllable nucleus not usually possessed by it in that position (as in English agèd)Compare acute (def. 8), circumflex
noun
a grave accent

Derived forms of grave

gravely, adverbgraveness, noun

Word Origin for grave

C16: from Old French, from Latin gravis; related to Greek barus heavy; see gravamen

British Dictionary definitions for grave (3 of 5)

grave3
/ (ɡreɪv) /

verb graves, graving, graved, graved or graven (tr) archaic
to cut, carve, sculpt, or engrave
to fix firmly in the mind

Word Origin for grave

Old English grafan; related to Old Norse grafa, Old High German graban to dig

British Dictionary definitions for grave (4 of 5)

grave4
/ (ɡreɪv) /

verb
(tr) nautical to clean and apply a coating of pitch to (the bottom of a vessel)

Word Origin for grave

C15: perhaps from Old French grave gravel

British Dictionary definitions for grave (5 of 5)

grave5
/ (ˈɡrɑːvɪ) /

adjective, adverb
music to be performed in a solemn manner

Word Origin for grave

C17: from Italian: heavy, from Latin gravis
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with grave

grave

see dig one's own grave; from the cradle to the grave; one foot in the grave; turn in one's grave.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
FEEDBACK