grave

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈgrāv

Synonyms of grave next

: an excavation (see excavation sense 2) for burial of a body

broadly : a burial place

: death sense 1a

believes there is life beyond the grave

: death sense 4

grave

2 of 6

adjective

ˈgrāv

in sense 3 often

ˈgräv

graver; gravest

: meriting serious consideration : important

grave problems

: likely to produce great harm or danger

a grave mistake

: significantly serious : considerable, great

grave importance

obsolete : authoritative, weighty

: having a serious and dignified quality or demeanor

a grave and thoughtful look

of an accent mark : having the form `

: marked with a grave accent

: of the variety indicated by a grave accent

: low-pitched in sound

: drab in color : somber

gravely adverb

graveness noun

grave

3 of 6

: a grave accent ` used to show that a vowel is pronounced with a fall of pitch (as in ancient Greek), that a vowel has a certain quality (such as è in French), that a final e is stressed and close and that a final o is stressed and low (as in Italian), that a syllable has a degree of stress between maximum and minimum (as in phonetic transcription), or that the e of the English ending -ed is to be pronounced (as in "this cursèd day")

grave

4 of 6

adverb or adjective

gra·ve ˈgrä-(ˌ)vā

: slowly and solemnly

—used as a direction in music

grave

5 of 6

verb (1)

ˈgrāv

graved; graven ˈgrā-vən

or graved; graving

transitive verb

: to carve or cut (something, such as letters or figures) into a hard surface : engrave

graved the dates of his birth and death on the headstone

: to carve or shape with a chisel : sculpture

: to impress or fix (a thought, a memory, etc.) deeply

archaic : dig, excavate

grave

6 of 6

verb (2)

ˈgrāv

graved; graving

transitive verb

: to clean and pay with pitch

grave a ship's bottom

Choose the Right Synonym for grave

serious, grave, solemn, sedate, staid, sober, earnest mean not light or frivolous.

serious implies a concern for what really matters.

a serious play about social injustice

grave implies both seriousness and dignity in expression or attitude.

read the proclamation in a grave voice

solemn suggests an impressive gravity utterly free from levity.

a sad and solemn occasion

sedate implies a composed and decorous seriousness.

remained sedate amid the commotion

staid suggests a settled, accustomed sedateness and prim self-restraint.

a quiet and staid community

sober stresses seriousness of purpose and absence of levity or frivolity.

a sober look at the state of our schools

earnest suggests sincerity or often zealousness of purpose.

an earnest reformer

Examples of grave in a Sentence

Noun (1) the forlorn boy put flowers on his mother's grave a rock star who found his early grave in a plane crash a terrible fear of the grave Adjective This violation of school rules is a grave matter. His carelessness could have grave consequences. They have placed themselves in grave danger. I have grave doubts about this plan. suffering from a grave illness The judge issued his ruling with a grave expression. The French word père is written with a grave accent over the first e. Verb (1) the doomed climber graved his initials into the rock face

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

To make the moment more solemn, David suggests borrowing from the Jewish ritual of laying a stone on top of a grave, and places one near the threshold. —

Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024 But as that film frequently reminds its audience, Disney had to drag a 56-year-old Hugh Jackman out of retirement and bring his character Wolverine literally out of the grave in order to make the splashy movie. —

Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024

Adjective

Three-to-four-feet deep grave shafts were found while preparing to begin archaeological excavation east of the White River. —

Jade Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Nov. 2024 But cancer is drawing attention given its grave nature. —

David Oliver, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grave

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English græf; akin to Old High German grab grave, Old English grafan to dig

Adjective

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French grave "having authority, weighty, heavy, low (of a sound)," borrowed from Latin gravis "heavy, oppressive, serious," going back to Indo-European *g^wreh₂-u- "heavy," whence, from zero-grade *g^wr̥h₂-u-, Gothic kaurjos (accusative plural of presumed *kaurus) "weighty," Greek barýs "heavy," Sanskrit gurúḥ (comparative garīyas) "heavy, weighty, venerable"; from a t-derivative *g^wr̥h₂-u-to-, Latin brūtus "heavy, inert" (see brute entry 1), Latvian grū̃ts "requiring much effort or pain, hard, heavy, (of a woman) pregnant"; from *g^wréh₂-mr̥-, with e-grade and a suffix, Tocharian B krāmär "weight, heaviness"

Note: Latin has remade the original u-stem adjective into an i-stem derivative; the same process produced the antonym levis "light in weight" (see light entry 4). The Gothic adjective represented by the form kaurjos has no congeners in other Germanic languages; its appurtenance here has been questioned by some, as Winfred Lehmann ("No acceptable Proto-Indo-European etymology …Possibly the labial element was lost in Germanic, though the lack of cognates outside Gothic makes such assumptions speculative." - A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, 1986).

Noun (2)

derivative of grave entry 2, sense 3

Adverb or adjective

Italian, literally, grave, from Latin gravis

Verb (1)

Middle English, from Old English grafan; akin to Old High German graban to dig, Old Church Slavic pogreti to bury

Verb (2)

Middle English graven

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1d

Noun (2)

1609, in the meaning defined above

Adverb Or Adjective

1683, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of grave was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Grave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grave. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

grave

1 of 4 verb

ˈgrāv

graved; graven ˈgrā-vən

or graved; graving

: carve sense 1, sculpture

: engrave sense 1a

grave

2 of 4 noun

: a hole dug to bury a body in

: tomb sense 2

grave

3 of 4 adjective

ˈgrāv,

in sense 3 often ˈgräv

: deserving serious consideration : important

a grave matter

: threatening great harm or danger

received a grave injury

: dignified in appearance or manner : solemn, serious

a grave and thoughtful look

: of, marked by, or being an accent mark having the form `

gravely adverb

graveness noun

grave

4 of 4 adverb or adjective

gra·ve

ˈgräv-(ˌ)ā

: in a slow and solemn manner

—used as a direction in music

Etymology

Verb

Old English grafan "dig, carve"

Adjective

from early French grave "important, serious, weighty," from Latin gravis "heavy, serious" — related to aggravate, gravity, grieve

Medical Definition

grave

adjective

ˈgrāv

: very serious : dangerous to life

—used of an illness or its prospects

a grave prognosis

Last Updated: 17 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

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grave

noun (1)

adjective

noun (2)

adverb or adjective

verb (1)

verb (2)

Synonyms

Examples of grave in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near grave

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition