Grave Definition

grāv
graved, graven, graver, graves, gravest, graving
noun
graves
An excavation for the interment of a corpse.
American Heritage
A hole in the ground in which to bury a dead body.
Webster's New World
Any place of burial; tomb.
Webster's New World
Final end or death; extinction.
Webster's New World

A written accent used in French, Italian, and other languages. è is an e with a grave accent.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:
  • dissolution
  • be infirm
  • be very old
  • be very ill
  • be near death
  • err
  • sin
  • do something disrespectful
  • do something shocking
  • last sleep
  • decay
  • permanent address
  • pit for the dead
  • wooden shroud
  • pine
adjective
graver, gravest
Requiring serious thought; important; weighty.
Grave doubts.
Webster's New World
Fraught with danger or harm.
A grave wound.
American Heritage
Not light or trifling in nature or in consequence; grievous.
A grave sin.
Webster's New World
Seriously threatening health, well-being, or life; critical; dangerous.
A grave illness.
Webster's New World
Dignified and somber in conduct or character.
A grave procession.
American Heritage
verb
graved, graven, graves, graving
To dig.
Webster's New World
To bury.
Webster's New World
To engrave; incise.
Webster's New World
To shape by carving; sculpture.
Webster's New World
To impress sharply and clearly; fix permanently.
Webster's New World
suffix

A final syllable signifying a ruler, as in landgrave, margrave, burgrave.

Wiktionary
idiom
have one foot in the grave
  • to be very ill, old, or infirm; be near death
Webster's New World
spin in one's grave
  • to be shocked or distressed
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Grave

Noun

Singular:
grave
Plural:
Graves

Adjective

Base Form:
grave
Comparative:
graver
Superlative:
gravest

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Grave

Origin of Grave

  • From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Dutch graf (“a grave”), Low German graf (“a grave”), German Grab (“a grave”), Swedish grav (“a grave”), Icelandic gröf (“a grave”). Cognate to Albanian gropë (“a ditch, hole”). Related to groove.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English graven, from Old English grafan (“to dig, dig up, grave, engrave, carve, chisel”), from Proto-Germanic *grabaną (“to dig”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Dutch graven (“to dig”), German graben (“to dig”), Swedish gräva (“to dig”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English graven from Old English grafan ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • French from Old French from Latin gravis gwerə-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English græf ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From French grave, from Latin gravis (“heavy, important”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Italian from Latin gravis heavy grave2

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English graven

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old Low German grēve

    From Wiktionary

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