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grave1 
Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key –noun
—Idioms
| 1. | an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body. |
| 2. | any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher: a watery grave. |
| 3. | any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past: the grave of unfulfilled ambitions. |
| 4. | death: O grave, where is thy victory? |
| 5. | 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. |
| 6. | make (one) turn or 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. |
—Related forms
graveless, adjective
gravelike, adjective
graveward, gravewards, adverb, adjective
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
grave
To learn more about grave visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
grave2
Audio Help [greyv; for 4, 6 also grahv] Pronunciation Key adjective, grav·er, grav·est for 1–3, 5, noun
—Related forms
Audio Help [greyv; for 4, 6 also grahv] Pronunciation Key adjective, grav·er, grav·est for 1–3, 5, noun –adjective
–noun
| 1. | serious or solemn; sober: a grave person; grave thoughts. |
| 2. | weighty, momentous, or important: grave responsibilities. |
| 3. | threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; critical: a grave situation; a grave illness. |
| 4. | Grammar.
|
| 5. | (of colors) dull; somber. |
| 6. | the grave accent. |
[Origin: 1535–45; < MF < L gravis; akin to Gk barýs heavy]
] —Related forms
gravely, adverb
graveness, noun
—Synonyms 1. sedate, staid, thoughtful. Grave, sober, solemn refer to the condition of being serious in demeanor or appearance. Grave indicates a weighty dignity, or the character, aspect, demeanor, speech, etc., of one conscious of heavy responsibilities or cares, or of threatening possibilities: The jury looked grave while studying the evidence. Sober (from its original sense of freedom from intoxication, and hence temperate, staid, sedate) has come to indicate absence of levity, gaiety, or mirth, and thus to be akin to serious and grave: as sober as a judge; a sober expression on one's face. Solemn implies an impressive seriousness and deep earnestness: The minister's voice was solemn as he announced the text.
—Antonyms 1. frivolous, gay.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
grave3
Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key
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Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key –verb (used with object), graved, grav·en or graved, grav·ing.
| 1. | to carve, sculpt, or engrave. |
| 2. | to impress deeply: graven on the mind. |
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME graven, OE grafan; c. G graben]
] —Related forms
graver, noun
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
grave4
Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [greyv] Pronunciation Key –verb (used with object), graved, grav·ing. Nautical.
| to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship). |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
gra·ve5
Audio Help [grah-vey; It. grah-ve] Pronunciation Key Music.
Audio Help [grah-vey; It. grah-ve] Pronunciation Key Music. –adjective
–adverb
| 1. | slow; solemn. |
| 2. | slowly; solemnly. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| grave 1
Audio Help (grāv) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English, from Old English græf; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| grave 2
Audio Help (grāv) Pronunciation Key
adj. grav·er, grav·est
n. Linguistics also (gräv) A mark ( ` ) indicating a pronounced e for the sake of meter in the usually nonsyllabic ending -ed in English poetry. [French, from Old French, from Latin gravis; see gwerə-1 in Indo-European roots.] grave'ly adv., grave'ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| grave 3
Audio Help (grāv) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. graved, grav·en (grā'vən) or graved, grav·ing, graves
[Middle English graven, from Old English grafan; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| grave 4
Audio Help (grāv) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. graved, grav·ing, graves To clean and coat (the bottom of a wooden ship) with pitch. [Middle English graven.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| gra·ve 5
Audio Help (grä'vā) Pronunciation Key
adv. & adj. Music In a slow and solemn manner. Used chiefly as a direction. [Italian, from Latin gravis, heavy; see grave2.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
grave (n.)
O.E. græf "grave, ditch," from P.Gmc. *graban (cf. O.S. graf, O.Fris. gref, O.H.G. grab "grave, tomb;" O.N. gröf "cave," Goth. graba "ditch"), from PIE base *ghrebh-/*ghrobh- "to dig, to scratch, to scrape" (cf. O.C.S. grobu "grave, tomb"); related to grafan "to dig" (see grave (v.)). From Middle Ages to 17c., they were temporary, crudely marked repositories from which the bones were removed to ossuaries after some years and the grave used for a fresh burial. "Perpetual graves" became common from c.1650. To make (someone) turn in his grave "behave in some way that would have offended the dead person" is first recorded 1888. Graveyard shift "late-night work" is c.1907, from earlier nautical term, in reference to the loneliness of after-hours work.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
grave (adj.)
1541, from M.Fr. grave, from L. gravis "weighty, serious, heavy," from PIE base *gru- (cf. Skt. guruh "heavy, weighty;" Gk. baros "weight," barys "heavy;" Goth. kaurus "heavy").
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
grave (v.)
O.E. grafan (p.t. grof, pp. grafen) "to dig, carve," from P.Gmc. *grabanan (cf. O.N. grafa, O.Fris. greva, O.H.G. graban, Goth. graban "to dig, carve"), from the same source as grave (n.). Its M.E. strong pp., graven, is the only part still active, the rest of the word supplanted by its derivative, engrave.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| grave | |
adjective | |
| 1. | dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises; "a grave God-fearing man"; "a quiet sedate nature"; "as sober as a judge"; "a solemn promise"; "the judge was solemn as he pronounced sentence" |
| 2. | causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm; "a dangerous operation"; "a grave situation"; "a grave illness"; "grievous bodily harm"; "a serious wound"; "a serious turn of events"; "a severe case of pneumonia"; "a life-threatening disease" [syn: dangerous] |
| 3. | of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought; "grave responsibilities"; "faced a grave decision in a time of crisis"; "a grievous fault"; "heavy matters of state"; "the weighty matters to be discussed at the peace conference" |
noun | |
| 1. | death of a person; "he went to his grave without forgiving me"; "from cradle to grave" |
| 2. | a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone); "he put flowers on his mother's grave" |
| 3. | a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation [syn: grave accent] |
verb | |
| 1. | shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it; "She is sculpting the block of marble into an image of her husband" [syn: sculpt] |
| 2. | carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface; "engrave a pen"; "engraved the trophy cupt with the winner's"; "the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree" [syn: scratch] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
grave [greiv] noun
a plot of ground, or the hole dug in it, in which a dead person is buried
Example: He laid flowers on the grave.
grave1 [greiv] adjectiveExample: He laid flowers on the grave.
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important
Example: a grave responsibility; grave decisions
grave2 [greiv] adjectiveExample: a grave responsibility; grave decisions
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serious, dangerous
Example: grave news
grave3 [greiv] adjectiveExample: grave news
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serious, sad
Example: a grave expression
See also: gravedigger, gravestone, graveyard, gravityExample: a grave expression
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
grave
A*cute"\, a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr. a root ak to be sharp. Cf. Ague, Cute, Edge.]1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; -- opposed to blunt or obtuse; as, an acute angle; an acute leaf. 2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to dull or stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning. 3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen; intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling; acute pain or pleasure. 4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; -- opposed to grave or low; as, an acute tone or accent. 5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity, and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic; as, an acute disease. Acute angle (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle. Syn: Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious; sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See Subtile.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Grave
Deg`ra*va"tion\, n. [L. degravare, degravatum, to make heavy. See Grave, a.] The act of making heavy. [Obs.] --Bailey.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Grave
Gra*va"men\, n.; pl. L. Gravamina , E. {Gravamens. [L., fr. gravare to load, burden, fr. gravis heavy, weighty. See Grave, a.] (Law) The grievance complained of; the substantial cause of the action; also, in general, the ground or essence of a complaint. Bouvier.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Grave
Grave\, v. t. (Naut.) To clean, as a vessel's bottom, of barnacles, grass, etc., and pay it over with pitch; -- so called because graves or greaves was formerly used for this purpose.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Grave
Grave\, a. [Compar. Graver (gr[=a]v"[~e]r); superl. Gravest.] [F., fr. L. gravis heavy; cf. It. & Sp. grave heavy, grave. See Grief.]1. Of great weight; heavy; ponderous. [Obs.] His shield grave and great. --Chapman. 2. Of importance; momentous; weighty; influential; sedate; serious; -- said of character, relations, etc.; as, grave deportment, character, influence, etc. Most potent, grave, and reverend seigniors. --Shak. A grave and prudent law, full of moral equity. --Milton. 3. Not light or gay; solemn; sober; plain; as, a grave color; a grave face. 4. (Mus.) (a) Not acute or sharp; low; deep; -- said of sound; as, a grave note or key. The thicker the cord or string, the more grave is the note or tone. --Moore (Encyc. of Music). (b) Slow and solemn in movement. Grave accent. (Pron.) See the Note under Accent, n., 2. Syn: Solemn; sober; serious; sage; staid; demure; thoughtful; sedate; weighty; momentous; important. Usage: Grave, Sober, Serious, Solemn. Sober supposes the absence of all exhilaration of spirits, and is opposed to gay or flighty; as, sober thought. Serious implies considerateness or reflection, and is opposed to jocose or sportive; as, serious and important concerns. Grave denotes a state of mind, appearance, etc., which results from the pressure of weighty interests, and is opposed to hilarity of feeling or vivacity of manner; as, a qrave remark; qrave attire. Solemn is applied to a case in which gravity is carried to its highest point; as, a solemn admonition; a solemn promise.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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