gravy
Americannoun
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gravies
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
“I get to have all the gravy, but I don’t have to get up at 3 in the morning,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
She is unsubtly telling Maine voters that this gravy train has only just left the station.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Like many of the ingredients in this story, gravy packets work best when viewed less as a finished product and more as a seasoning blend—one designed to add a little extra gravity to dinner.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Dominion has been riding the gravy train for years, but its shareholders haven’t gotten any gravy.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The smell of gravy and onions made my parents forget to fight, the taste of cranberries reminded them how to laugh.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
It’s a rich taste, common in soups, gravies, cheeses, and soy sauce.
From NewsForKids.net ● May 16, 2024
The 4-acre facility, which can produce up to 25 tons of chowders, soups and gravies a day, seven days a week, has seen a recent leveling-off in shipping costs for some ingredients.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
While the gravies of the South are typically milk- or cream-based, there's no rule that you can't douse biscuits in a brown gravy and call it breakfast.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2021
Folse said the “black pot cooking” of Louisiana, where gumbos, gravies and vegetables simmer slowly in cast iron, has its roots in the Caribbean and before that in West Africa.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 15, 2019
Always perfectly seasoned, typically served with delicious gravies or sauces.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
