groove
Americannoun
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grooves
plural
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a long, narrow cut or indentation in a surface, as the cut in a board to receive the tongue of another board tongue-and-groove joint, a furrow, or a natural indentation on an organism.
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the track or channel of a phonograph record for the needle or stylus.
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a fixed routine.
to get into a groove.
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Printing. the furrow at the bottom of a piece of type.
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Slang. an enjoyable time or experience.
verb (used with object)
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grooves,
present (3rd person singular)
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grooved,
past participle, past
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grooving
present participle
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to cut a groove in; furrow.
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Slang.
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to appreciate and enjoy.
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to please immensely.
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verb (used without object)
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grooves,
present (3rd person singular)
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grooved,
past participle, past
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grooving
present participle
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Slang.
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to take great pleasure; enjoy oneself.
He was grooving on the music.
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to get along or interact well.
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to fix in a groove.
idioms
noun
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a long narrow channel or furrow, esp one cut into wood by a tool
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the spiral channel, usually V-shaped, in a gramophone record See also microgroove
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one of the spiral cuts in the bore of a gun
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anatomy any furrow or channel on a bodily structure or part; sulcus
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mountaineering a shallow fissure in a rock face or between two rock faces, forming an angle of more than 120°
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a settled existence, routine, etc, to which one is suited or accustomed, esp one from which it is difficult to escape
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slang an experience, event, etc, that is groovy
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jazz playing well and apparently effortlessly, with a good beat, etc
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fashionable
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verb
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(tr) to form or cut a groove in
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old-fashioned (intr) to enjoy oneself or feel in rapport with one's surroundings
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(intr) jazz to play well, with a good beat, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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groovesimple
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groovessimple
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have groovedperfect
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has groovedperfect
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am groovingprogressive
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are groovingprogressive
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is groovingprogressive
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have been groovingperfect progressive
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has been groovingperfect progressive
Past
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groovedsimple
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had groovedperfect
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was groovingprogressive
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were groovingprogressive
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had been groovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of groove
1350–1400; Middle English grofe, groof mining shaft; cognate with Middle Dutch groeve, Dutch groef, German Grube pit, ditch; akin to grave 1
Explanation
A groove is an indentation or rut in something — like the grooves on an old record. Groove is rooted in an old Dutch word for "furrow" or "ditch." And that's just what a groove is: a carved out line, like wheel ruts in a muddy road or the narrow opening that a sliding door moves in. If you can't "find your groove," you feel off track and out of whack. But when you're "in the groove," everything is working smoothly and you've found a good routine. And if someone says "let's groove!", they want to dance.
Vocabulary lists containing groove
Look Both Ways
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A Single Shard
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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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.
See Examples For:
The kind of groove your tires make driving to Big Bear in December without chains: an icy trench filled with frustration, exhaustion and everyday sludge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Using powerful atomic force microscopy, researchers watched short pieces of DNA align with extraordinary precision, matching one another groove for groove.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Over a woozy, wavy groove that sounds like a water-damaged recording of a jazz-fusion ballad as it stretches past seven minutes, she tosses out observations about African-American history and the state of the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
On Misunderstood, she laughs at the people who told her she'd "never make it on her own"; while the laid back groove of Treasure allows Starr to pause and savour her success.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
His greatgrandfather goes to his knees like a penitent, fits the saw into a groove in the bark, and begins to cut.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Computer simulations then revealed what appears to make this close contact possible: positively charged metal ions can settle into the grooves of DNA and serve as tiny molecular bridges between the two molecules.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
At the festival, Fairlee was indeed laser-focused on getting to Rodrigo’s set — but she also enjoyed Santigold’s live grooves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Dew gathers on their skin and is channelled towards their mouths through microscopic grooves, while their tongues can also collect fog water condensed on plants, sand and rocks.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In the new study, researchers examined several kinds of depressions, punctures, holes, and grooves that appeared to have been left by teeth.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
My grandfather's white hair is scattered as a haystack and his clothes are wrinkled, but there’s no sleep in the deep grooves of his face.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Everything was utterly rhythmical, repetitive and perfectly grooved.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Three pitches into the bottom of the sixth, Sheehan grooved a fastball to Marsh, and he hit it out for a 5-3 lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
One location stood out due to the discovery of about 80 grooved stone axes, which were used to break down and process ore.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026
Buehler gave up a two-run double to David Peralta and grooved an 0-and-2 fastball to Fernando Tatis Jr., who crushed a rally-capping two-run homer to left-center field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2024
I bulldozed blindly through West Virginia, plunged into Pennsylvania and grooved Rocinante to the great wide turnpike.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
He tells Newsbeat he finds creating and attending dance events "just changes something in your brain because you're just there grooving non-stop".
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Mr. Cameron’s characters must learn the gentle wisdom of grooving along with nature, literally making themselves a part of Pandora in gestures of eco-unity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
The score also plays on the concept of time and uses electronic manipulation for ticking, grooving rhythmic passages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024
Even in its earliest manifestations, there was a peculiar combination of grooving energy and inherent sadness in their music that would pervade their hitmaking efforts with Fleetwood Mac and beyond.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2024
Walking back to the car, Molly sees Jack through the windshield, eyes closed, grooving out to a song she can’t hear.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
