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grave
1[ greyv ]
noun
- an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body.
- any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher:
a watery grave.
- any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past:
the grave of unfulfilled ambitions.
- death:
O grave, where is thy victory?
grave
2[ greyv; grahv ]
adjective
- serious or solemn; sober:
a grave person;
grave thoughts.
Synonyms: thoughtful, staid, sedate
- weighty, momentous, or important:
grave responsibilities.
- threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; critical:
a grave situation;
a grave illness.
- Phonetics.
- spoken on a low or falling pitch.
- Orthography. noting or having a particular diacritic (`) indicating originally a comparatively low pitch (as in French père ), distinct syllabic value (as in English belovèd ), etc. ( acute ).
- (of colors) dull; somber.
noun
- Phonetics, Orthography. the grave accent.
grave
3[ greyv ]
verb (used with object)
- to carve, sculpt, or engrave.
- to impress deeply:
graven on the mind.
grave
4[ greyv ]
verb (used with object)
- to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).
grave
1/ ɡreɪv /
noun
- a place for the burial of a corpse, esp beneath the ground and usually marked by a tombstone sepulchral
- something resembling a grave or resting place
the ship went to its grave
- the gravea poetic term for death
- have one foot in the grave informal.to be near death
- to make someone turn in his grave or to make someone turn over in his graveto do something that would have shocked or distressed (someone now dead)
many modern dictionaries would make Dr Johnson turn in his grave
grave
2/ ɡreɪv /
adjective
- serious and solemn
a grave look
- full of or suggesting danger
a grave situation
- important; crucial
grave matters of state
- (of colours) sober or dull
- phonetics
- (of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient Greek) spoken on a lower or falling musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels
- of or relating to an accent (`) over vowels, denoting a pronunciation with lower or falling musical pitch (as in ancient Greek), with certain special quality (as in French), or in a manner that gives the vowel status as a syllable nucleus not usually possessed by it in that position (as in English agèd ) Compare acute circumflex
noun
- a grave accent
grave
3/ ɡreɪv /
verb
- to cut, carve, sculpt, or engrave
- to fix firmly in the mind
grave
4/ ɡreɪv /
verb
- tr nautical to clean and apply a coating of pitch to (the bottom of a vessel)
grave
5/ ˈɡrɑːvɪ /
adjective
- music to be performed in a solemn manner
Derived Forms
- ˈgraveness, noun
- ˈgravely, adverb
Other Words From
- graveless adjective
- gravelike adjective
- graveward gravewards adverb adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of grave1
Origin of grave2
Origin of grave3
Word History and Origins
Origin of grave1
Origin of grave2
Origin of grave3
Origin of grave4
Origin of grave5
Idioms and Phrases
- have one foot in the grave, to be so frail, sick, or old that death appears imminent:
It was a shock to see my uncle looking as if he had one foot in the grave.
- make (one) turn / turn over in one's grave, to do something to which a specified dead person would have objected bitterly:
This production of Hamlet is enough to make Shakespeare turn in his grave.
More idioms and phrases containing grave
see dig one's own grave ; from the cradle to the grave ; one foot in the grave ; turn in one's grave .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The impact of what you have done will be taken to my grave but on the way there, I want you to know that I stand strong before you today.
She wants to wear it at Monroe’s grave, because she says it could’ve been her.
But some still believe — or hope — and remain willing to consider the allure of seances, Ouija boards, communications beyond the grave.
Last week, the deputy chief of the army and two ministers - all allies of Machar - were arrested by the security forces, which an opposition spokesman called a "grave violation" of the peace deal.
The bodies of those killed had been buried in a mass grave near a shrine on the outskirts of the town, while those who were kidnapped had not yet returned, he added.
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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.
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