gross
adjective
without deductions; total, as the amount of sales, salary, profit, etc., before taking deductions for expenses, taxes, or the like (opposed to net).
gross
1 American
[grohs]
/ groʊs /
adjective
-
grosser,
comparative
-
grossest
superlative
-
without deductions; total, as the amount of sales, salary, profit, etc., before taking deductions for expenses, taxes, or the like (opposed to net).
gross earnings;
gross sales.
-
a gross scoundrel.
-
flagrant and extreme.
gross injustice.
- Synonyms:
- grievous, heinous, outrageous, absolute, downright
-
indelicate, indecent, obscene, or vulgar.
gross remarks.
- Antonyms:
- decent
-
lacking in refinement, good manners, education, etc.; unrefined.
-
large, big, or bulky.
- Antonyms:
- small, diminutive
-
extremely or excessively fat.
-
of or concerning only the broadest or most general considerations, aspects, etc.
-
Slang. extremely objectionable, offensive, or disgusting.
He wore an outfit that was absolutely gross.
-
gross vegetation;
gross fog;
gross vapors.
noun
-
gross,
plural
-
grosses
plural
-
a group of 12 dozen, or 144, things. gro.
-
total income from sales, salary, etc., before any deductions (opposed to net).
-
Obsolete. the main body, bulk, or mass.
verb (used with object)
-
grosses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grossed,
past participle, past
-
grossing
present participle
verb phrase
Gross
2
American
[grohs]
/ groʊs /
noun
gross
British
/ ɡrəʊs /
adjective
-
repellently or excessively fat or bulky
-
with no deductions for expenses, tax, etc; total Compare net 2
gross sales
gross income
-
(of personal qualities, tastes, etc) conspicuously coarse or vulgar
-
obviously or exceptionally culpable or wrong; flagrant
gross inefficiency
-
lacking in perception, sensitivity, or discrimination
gross judgments
-
(esp of vegetation) dense; thick; luxuriant
-
obsolete coarse in texture or quality
-
rare rude; uneducated; ignorant
interjection
noun
-
a unit of quantity equal to 12 dozen
-
-
the entire amount
-
the great majority
-
verb
gross
Cultural
Usage
What’s the difference between gross and net? In the context of finance and accounting, gross refers to the total amount before any deductions, while net refers to the final amount that remains after deductions have been made. Of course, gross and net are common words with many other meanings, but these senses of gross and net are used in the context of measuring something (especially money) that has been accumulated—profit, income, earnings, gains, etc. The amount described or referred to as gross is everything that has been taken in, not accounting for things like debts, deductions, and expenses. The amount described or referred to as net is how much you have left after you’ve subtracted anything that doesn’t count toward profit, like debts and expenses. In other words, net is basically gross minus whatever you owe or have spent. For this reason, net is always lower than gross. For example, let’s say you decide to sell cupcakes at a bake sale. You spend $15 on ingredients, and you have to rent a table for $5, which equals $20 in expenses. Good news, you make $50 in cupcake sales. Your gross is $50. Minus the $20 in expenses, your net is $30. You could say you grossed $50 and netted $30. To remember the difference, remember that a net sifts whatever goes into it so that only some remains. Here’s an example of gross and net used correctly in the same sentence. Example: For this quarter, gross income was $2 million, but $1. 25 million in expenses and outstanding debts resulted in a net of only $750,000. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between gross and net.
Synonym Usage
See flagrant.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
grossnessnoun
-
overgrossnessnoun
-
outgrossverb (used with object)
-
overgrossadjective
-
ungrossadjective
-
grosslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grosssimple
-
grossessimple
-
have grossedperfect
-
has grossedperfect
-
am grossingprogressive
-
are grossingprogressive
-
is grossingprogressive
-
have been grossingperfect progressive
-
has been grossingperfect progressive
Past
-
grossedsimple
-
had grossedperfect
-
was grossingprogressive
-
were grossingprogressive
-
had been grossingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gross
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French gros “large” (as noun, grosse “twelve dozen”), from Late Latin gross(us) “thick, coarse”
Explanation
Get ready, because gross has a few different meanings. When something is gross, it's disgusting. The noun, a gross, is the complete amount (before expenses), and the verb "to gross" is to bring in money. Two things will tell you which meaning is the right one with a word like gross: the part of speech and the context. If you're talking about awful, sickening, vile things, you're looking at the adjective gross. If you're referring to, say, how much money a movie made, that's the noun gross; but remember, the gross is how much the movie made in total, not how much it cleared in profit after expenses (the net). As a noun, gross can also be a unit of measurement: if your teacher orders a gross of pencils, he'll get a shipment of 12 dozen. The verb to gross means to pull in money, as in: the bake sale grossed 30 dollar.
Vocabulary lists containing gross
More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Economics
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 2
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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:
Amazingly, the researchers found that hospital administration — not the doctors or the medical care, but the administration — soaks up 1.43% of U.S. gross domestic product.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
German government debt is just 66 percent of the country's gross domestic product, compared to almost 120 percent for France.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
No criminal charges were brought but he was told he would have faced a gross misconduct hearing had he not already left the force.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Last year, China’s credit to the nonfinancial sector—a broad measure of corporate, government and household borrowings—topped 300% of gross domestic product.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
I do head to the bathroom to wash my hands—not because Mom told me to, but because my hands are gross from having touched all those cans and bottles, even through the gloves.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Gross margins measure the amount of money a company retains after handling the costs of making its products.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
He is level with Brighton's Pascal Gross on 18.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Gross domestic product growth was 0.1% on month in August, latest official data from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics showed Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Even with respectable ancillary income based on the film’s pedigree, the movie is going to lose a lot of money,” David A. Gross wrote in his FranchiseRe movie industry newsletter shortly after the film’s opening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Our first-grade teacher, Mr. Gross, liked to play guessing games.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
He said he typically grosses $140 to $150 a day, minus about $30 of gas for his Ford Focus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
In addition to prestige, an Oscar is a huge publicity generator that can translate into box office grosses, home video sales and streaming viewership.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
It really needed a boost, because its grosses have been anemic — last week it grossed $288,102, which is unsustainably low for a Broadway musical.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2024
Ticket sales from large format screens, including IMAX, made up about 40% of the opening weekend grosses.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
The thought of the false teeth currently chillin’ in their purple glitter container inside G’ma’s purse almost grosses Scoob out as much as the oysters.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
While Lord Wynstowe fusses around measuring chins and noses, Charlie and Alice are concerned with the grosser features of the human body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
In that vacuum, normal people were tuning out altogether, because the election seemed grosser and sadder by the minute.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2024
Tom Cruise always has the answer, though: the top grosser of the day was Top Gun: Maverick, which added about $6 million to its box office haul.
From The Verge ● Sep. 5, 2022
In fact, some of the best sunsets appear in the winter, when a damp wind can broom away the grosser air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2022
Others were more recent and a lot grosser.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
Even though Coleman sometimes showcases customers’ grossest problems, he’s never heard from a client who was unhappy with a post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Judge Patrick Lynch KC told the former teacher that he had violated the trust placed in him "in the grossest manner".
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
In a judicial attention economy, we have a lot of judges who all want the president’s solo attention waving their hands and saying: No, I am the grossest one of all!
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
His book, "Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy," has become an Amazon bestseller because he's promoted by the grossest people on the internet.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2023
Maybe it's because they got so many cows, and that's cool, but milking cows might've been the grossest thing I've ever done.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
She says she grossed $300,000 last year and netted $90,000.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The film grossed $270 million worldwide on a $38 million budget, and Amy Madigan won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance as the equal-parts creepy and captivating witch Gladys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
At the time, he was the first person who wrote about her in a way that didn’t make me feel grossed out.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The movie grossed nearly $180m worldwide at the box office at the time.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In July, we’d seen the chips at the corner market and been totally grossed out.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
The band’s ongoing “M72” tour is hovering around the 10 highest grossing tours ever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
AI images are popping up everywhere in food ads—and are grossing people out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It is now Sony Picture's highest-ever grossing film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
She also starred in this year’s “The Drama,” an independent feature that became a surprise hit for A24, grossing over $132 million worldwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
I figured she was grossing me out as revenge for not eating her chicken dinner.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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