groom

American  

[groom, groom] / grum, grʊm /

noun

• grooms
  plural

1. a bridegroom.

2. a man or boy in charge of horses or the stable.

3. any of several officers of the English royal household.

4. Archaic. a manservant.

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verb (used with object)

• grooms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• groomed,
  past participle,  past
• grooming
  present participle

1. to tend carefully as to person and dress; make neat or tidy.

2. to clean, brush, and otherwise tend (a horse, dog, etc.).

3. to prepare (a trail) for a specific use, such as skiing, biking, or hiking.

   The resort is currently grooming 7 miles of cross-country ski trails for your enjoyment this winter.

4. to prepare for a position, election, etc..

   Both of these young goalies are being groomed for roles in the NHL.

5. to condition or manipulate (a victim) emotionally over time, as through friendship, gifts, flattery, etc., in order to entrap the person in a sexually abusive or predatory relationship.

6. (of an animal) to tend (itself or another) by removing dirt, parasites, or specks of other matter from the fur, skin, feathers, etc.: often performed as a social act.

groom British  

/ ɡruːm, ɡrʊm /

noun

1. a person employed to clean and look after horses

2. See bridegroom

3. any of various officers of a royal or noble household

4. archaic a male servant or attendant

5. archaic a young man

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verb

1. to make or keep (clothes, appearance, etc) clean and tidy

2. to rub down, clean, and smarten (a horse, dog, etc)

3. to train or prepare for a particular task, occupation, etc

   to groom someone for the Presidency

4. to win the confidence of (a victim) in order to a commit sexual assault on him or her

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• groomer
  noun
• grooming
  noun
• regroom
  verb (used with object)
• groomish
  adjective
• nongrooming
  adjective
• ungroomed
  adjective
• groomishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• grooms
  plural

Participles

• grooming
  present
• groomed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• groom
  simple
• grooms
  simple
• have groomed
  perfect
• has groomed
  perfect
• am grooming
  progressive
• are grooming
  progressive
• is grooming
  progressive
• have been grooming
  perfect progressive
• has been grooming
  perfect progressive

Past

• groomed
  simple
• had groomed
  perfect
• was grooming
  progressive
• were grooming
  progressive
• had been grooming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will groom
  simple
• will have groomed
  perfect
• will be grooming
  progressive
• will have been grooming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of groom

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English grom, grome, groum “infant boy, boy, youth, groom”; further origin obscure; akin to grow

Explanation

To groom means to take care of the appearance, whether it's plucking eyebrows or combing hair. When you spend over an hour grooming in the bathroom, combing your mustache and buffing your nails, you drive everyone else who needs to use the bathroom crazy. You can groom something besides a person. Resorts groom their golf courses and ski runs. If you own a horse, you groom it every day. Animals groom each other by picking off insects and licking at fur. You can also use groom in regards to the mind. If you are being groomed for a certain spot or position, you are being prepared to take over its activities and responsibilities. Let's hope that you will someday be groomed for a spot on an executive board. And last but not least, the man getting married at a wedding is the groom.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

groom grooms groomed grooming

"I hope today's outcome sends a clear message that those who seek to groom and exploit vulnerable children will be relentlessly pursued," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

And they use tools -- research last year showed a critically endangered population of orcas in the Salish Sea breaking off pieces of seaweed to rub and groom each other.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The ceremony, per tabloid reporting, was interminable, with both bride and groom delivering a 20-minute set of vows.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

During the tournament, a new tradition has also emerged: Fans gather and toss a person into the air, as is traditionally done with a groom at a wedding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Mammals characteristically nuzzle, fondle, hug, caress, pet, groom and love their young, behavior essentially unknown among the reptiles.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Several other pairs of twins were in attendance - perhaps unsurprising as the grooms are well known locally for promoting twin culture.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Some grooms are taking it a step further, parlaying their weddings into personal branding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

He grooms them, administers their daily doses of medicine by hand and recognizes their individual personalities.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

India brides and grooms prepping with weight-loss drugs.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026

He’d had it from the lips of one of the grooms who tended the king’s horses.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Like Bukele, de la Espriella sports a meticulously groomed beard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Also depends on how you were groomed or how you came into the situation.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

After defending Jackson many times previously, including on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show in 2010, all five of the family’s adult children say they were groomed to protect him.

From Salon ● May 14, 2026

Memorably, the penultimate episode found Attenborough playing with and being groomed by a group of mountain gorillas, which he later described as "one of the most exciting encounters of my life".

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

His white beard and hair were long, but combed and groomed.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

But she said what followed was a gradual process of grooming that she did not recognise at the time.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Retail analysts estimate that the global market for men’s grooming will boom by tens of billions of dollars—if not hundreds of billions of dollars—in the next five or so years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Samoyeds, which originated in Siberia as reindeer-herding dogs for the Samoyedic people, have a unique “double coat” that requires professional grooming every six to eight weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

On Monday, the government announced revised plans that would exclude prisoners who had committed rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences from an early release scheme for England and Wales.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

She’s slipping up on the grooming too, reverting to her old sloppy ways of years ago.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• comb
• educate
• prim
• tend