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grave

 - 17 dictionary results

grave

1  [greyv]
Use grave in a Sentence
–noun
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?
—Idioms
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.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE græf; c. G Grab; see grave 3

Related forms:
graveless, adjective
gravelike, adjective
graveward, gravewards, adverb, adjective

grave

2  [greyv; for 4, 6 also grahv] adjective, grav⋅er, grav⋅est for 1–3, 5, noun
–adjective
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.
a. unaccented.
b. spoken on a low or falling pitch.
c. noting or having a particular accent (`) indicating originally a comparatively low pitch (as in French père), distinct syllabic value (as in English belovèd), etc. (opposed to acute ).
5. (of colors) dull; somber.
–noun
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.

grave

3  [greyv]
–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

grave

4  [greyv]
–verb (used with object), graved, grav⋅ing. Nautical.
to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).
Origin:
1425–75; late ME; perh. akin to gravel

gra⋅ve

5  [grah-vey; It. grah-ve] Music.
–adjective
1. slow; solemn.
–adverb
2. slowly; solemnly.
Origin:
1575–85; < It grave < L gravis heavy; see grave 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To grave
grave 1   (grāv)   
n.  

    1. An excavation for the interment of a corpse.

    2. A place of burial.

  2. Death or extinction: faced the grave with calm resignation.


[Middle English, from Old English græf; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.]
grave 2   (grāv)   
adj.   grav·er, grav·est

  1. Requiring serious thought; momentous: a grave decision in a time of crisis.

  2. Fraught with danger or harm: a grave wound.

  3. Dignified and somber in conduct or character: a grave procession. See Synonyms at serious.

  4. Somber or dark in hue.

  5. also (gräv) Linguistics

    1. Written with or modified by the mark ( ` ), as the è in Sèvres.

    2. Of or referring to a phonetic feature that distinguishes sounds produced at the periphery of the vocal tract, as in labial and velar consonants and back vowels.

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.
grave 3   (grāv)   
tr.v.   graved, grav·en (grā'vən) or graved, grav·ing, graves

  1. To sculpt or carve; engrave.

  2. To stamp or impress deeply; fix permanently.


[Middle English graven, from Old English grafan; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.]
grave 4   (grāv)   
tr.v.   graved, grav·ing, graves
To clean and coat (the bottom of a wooden ship) with pitch.

[Middle English graven.]
gra·ve 5   (grä'vā)   
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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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.

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").

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
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: grave
Pronunciation: 'grAv
Function: adjective
: very serious : dangerous to life —used of an illness or its prospects grave prognosis>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

grave (grāv)
adj.
Serious or dangerous, as a symptom or disease.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Bible Dictionary

Grave

Among the ancient Hebrews graves were outside of cities in the open field (Luke 7:12; John 11:30). Kings (1 Kings 2:10) and prophets (1 Sam. 25:1) were generally buried within cities. Graves were generally grottoes or caves, natural or hewn out in rocks (Isa. 22:16; Matt. 27:60). There were family cemeteries (Gen. 47:29; 50:5; 2 Sam. 19:37). Public burial-places were assigned to the poor (Jer. 26:23; 2 Kings 23:6). Graves were usually closed with stones, which were whitewashed, to warn strangers against contact with them (Matt. 23:27), which caused ceremonial pollution (Num. 19:16). There were no graves in Jerusalem except those of the kings, and according to tradition that of the prophetess Huldah.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

grave

see dig one's own grave; from the cradle to the grave; one foot in the grave; turn in one's grave.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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