gravy
Americannoun
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the fat and juices that drip from cooking meat, often thickened, seasoned, flavored, etc., and used as a sauce for meat, potatoes, rice, etc.
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Slang.
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profit or money easily obtained or received unexpectedly.
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money illegally or dishonestly acquired, especially through graft.
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something advantageous or valuable that is received or obtained as a benefit beyond what is due or expected.
noun
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the juices that exude from meat during cooking
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the sauce made by thickening and flavouring such juices
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slang money or gain acquired with little effort, esp above that needed for ordinary living
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slang wonderful; excellent
it's all gravy
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gravy
1350–1400; 1905–10 gravy for def. 2; Middle English gravé, gravey < Old French gravé, perhaps misreading of grané (compare grain spice) < Latin granātus full of grains. See grain, -ate 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.
She is unsubtly telling Maine voters that this gravy train has only just left the station.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026
Dominion has been riding the gravy train for years, but its shareholders haven’t gotten any gravy.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Consider any positivity that comes from the Oklahoma City series as pure gravy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026
It forgoes the sticky glaze in favor of a deep brown gravy that pools and clings.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
My father had shoveled in a mouthful of rice and gravy.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
