grave
1an 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?
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
1Other words from grave
- graveless, adjective
- gravelike, adjective
- graveward, gravewards, adverb, adjective
Other definitions for grave (2 of 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.
spoken on a low or falling pitch.
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.
Phonetics, Orthography. the grave accent.
Origin of grave
2synonym study For grave
Other words for grave
Opposites for grave
Other words from grave
- gravely, adverb
- graveness, noun
- un·grave·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with grave
- gravely , gravelly
Other definitions for grave (3 of 5)
to carve, sculpt, or engrave.
to impress deeply: graven on the mind.
Origin of grave
3Other words from grave
- graver, noun
Other definitions for grave (4 of 5)
to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).
Origin of grave
4Other definitions for grave (5 of 5)
Origin of grave
5Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use grave in a sentence
To many, it sounded like he was trivializing the gravest of issues.
For a President Today, Talkin' Down Is Speaking American | John McWhorter | August 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey can justify all their howling by arguing that this scandal is more serious, more deserving of the gravest steps being taken.
He told The Daily Telegraph he always had the “gravest suspicions” that the killing had involved “state actors” in Russia.
In our 235 years as a nation, that might have been—other than the Civil War—the gravest threat our republic has ever faced.
The gravest threat to U.S. security may come from the militant Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
"Yes, as there seems no possibility of making any more mistakes on our way, you are free," replied the gravest of the two.
Just at this moment despatches of the gravest importance arrived from Guelders at Whitehall.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayIn the early days of the war the work of the secret service at the Front was of the gravest importance.
The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts RinehartAnd they formed groups, of which some chatted, and were elegant, and some spoke the gravest words uttered for centuries.
The Lord of the Sea | M. P. ShielThe gravest difference of opinion had to do with the Communion.
The Necessity of Atheism | Dr. D.M. Brooks
British Dictionary definitions for grave (1 of 5)
/ (ɡreɪv) /
a place for the burial of a corpse, esp beneath the ground and usually marked by a tombstone: Related adjective: sepulchral
something resembling a grave or resting place: the 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
Origin of grave
1British Dictionary definitions for grave (2 of 5)
/ (ɡreɪv) /
serious and solemn: a grave look
full of or suggesting danger: a grave situation
important; crucial: grave matters of state
(of colours) sober or dull
phonetics
(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
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
a grave accent
Origin of grave
2Derived forms of grave
- gravely, adverb
- graveness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for grave (3 of 5)
/ (ɡreɪv) /
to cut, carve, sculpt, or engrave
to fix firmly in the mind
Origin of grave
3British Dictionary definitions for grave (4 of 5)
/ (ɡreɪv) /
(tr) nautical to clean and apply a coating of pitch to (the bottom of a vessel)
Origin of grave
4British Dictionary definitions for grave (5 of 5)
/ (ˈɡrɑːvɪ) /
music to be performed in a solemn manner
Origin of grave
5Collins 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
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.
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