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.

---

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

---

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

Under a microscope, researchers watched the sea spider wrap these appendages around its legs and use comb-like spines to groom and clean its body.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

At the Sunday reception, the couple had their first dance, with Bettina Trump wearing her wedding dress, and ate a five-tier wedding cake topped with a miniature bride and groom.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Photos showed dancing under disco balls, a white cake topped with figurines of a bride and groom and Donald Trump Jr. holding his new wife in his arms as fireworks erupt in the background.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Trinidad also drives to homes and events when invited — he recently went to a wedding and gave haircuts to the groom and his friends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

He felt worse and worse as he began to groom his damp fur.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

One of successful grooms, 43-year-old clothes trader Rabiu Yusuf, agreed the process of applying to be married had gone smoothly for him.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The grooms lined up beside them in navy blue suits and deep-red ties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

There is some debate over what to call Bianco’s mustache, which he said he grooms himself with scissors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

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

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

Riders and grooms would sometimes stand around for hours, waiting for the horse to wake up before they could get to work.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

In one room, top clients can be groomed with Prada beauty products before trying on clothes next door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Unless one or both of them is being groomed as a future “Update” co-host, time’s running out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

"The National Intelligence Service currently assesses that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the successor and understands she has a younger sibling of unknown gender," the agency said, reaffirming its conclusion on succession.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

"This will ensure that the whole ecosystem changes, tackling the means by which children are most often abused or groomed in the online world," Nandy said.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Next door was another, in better shape, called Speed Stop Car Parts, overlooking a neatly groomed park with an American flag on a pole.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Holly also argued that the term "grooming gang" had become weaponised, creating misconceptions about the nature of the abuse.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

"They also require a lot of grooming and sometimes pretty premiere services."

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Across from the main entertaining spaces sits a six-stall barn complete with an executive office, staff quarters, three grooming stations, a feed kitchen, and storage.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Servicemembers must meet waist-to-height standards and have “impeccable” grooming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

I explained that Mom believed children should be responsible for their own grooming.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• comb
• educate
• prim
• tend

---