gr -abbr

  1. grade
  2. grain
  3. gram
  4. gravity
  5. gross

Gr -abbr

  1. Greece; Greek

graaf·ian follicle [,grä-fē-ən-, ,gra-] -n

  1. a mature liquid-filled cavity in a mammalian ovary that ruptures during ovulation to release an egg

grab ['grab] -vb, n

  1. to take or seize by or as if by a sudden motion or grasp
    • grab up an ax
    • grabbed the opportunity
    • grab attention
  2. to obtain unscrupulously
    • grab public lands
  3. to take hastily
    • grab a bite to eat
    • grab a cab
  4. to seize the attention of
    • the technique of grabbing an audience -- Pauline Kael
  5. to impress favorably and deeply
  6. to make a grab
  7. intended to be grabbed
    • a grab rail
  8. taken at random
    • grab samples of rocks
  9. something grabbed
  10. a sudden snatch
  11. an unlawful or unscrupulous seizure
  12. a device for clutching an object
  13. clamshell

grab bag -n

  1. a receptacle (as a bag) containing small articles which are to be drawn (as at a party or fair) without being seen
  2. a miscellaneous collection : potpourri

grab·ble ['gra-bəl] -vi, n

  1. to search with the hand : grope
  2. to lie or fall prone : sprawl

grab·by ['gra-bē] -adj

  1. tending to grab : grasping, greedy
    • grabby hands
    • taught the children not to be grabby
  2. having the power to grab the attention
    • grabby ads

gra·ben ['grä-bən] -n

  1. a depressed segment of the crust of the earth or a celestial body (as the moon) bounded on at least two sides by faults

grace ['grās] -n

  1. unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
  2. a virtue coming from God
  3. a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
  4. approval, favor
    • stayed in his good grace s
  5. mercy, pardon
  6. a special favor : privilege
    • each in his place, by right, not grace, shall rule his heritage -- Rudyard Kipling
  7. disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
  8. a temporary exemption : reprieve
  9. a charming or attractive trait or characteristic
  10. a pleasing appearance or effect : charm
    • all the grace of youth -- John Buchan
  11. ease and suppleness of movement or bearing
  12. used as a title of address or reference for a duke, a duchess, or an archbishop
  13. a short prayer at a meal asking a blessing or giving thanks
  14. three sister goddesses in Greek mythology who are the givers of charm and beauty
  15. a musical trill, turn, or appoggiatura
  16. sense of propriety or right
    • had the grace not to run for elective office -- Calvin Trillin
  17. the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful
  18. to confer dignity or honor on
  19. adorn, embellish
    • graveled walks graced with statues -- J. A. Michener

grace·ful ['grās-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. displaying grace in form or action : pleasing or attractive in line, proportion, or movement

grace·less ['grās-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. lacking in divine grace : immoral, unregenerate
  2. lacking a sense of propriety
    • a graceless accusation
  3. devoid of attractive qualities
  4. artistically inept or unbeautiful
    • graceless dancing

grace note -n

  1. a musical note added as an ornament
  2. appoggiatura
  3. a small addition or embellishment

grace period -n

  1. a period of time beyond a due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty or cancellation

grac·ile ['gra-səl, -,sī(-ə)l] -adj, n

  1. slender, slight
  2. graceful
  3. of, relating to, resembling, or being a relatively small slender australopithecine (genus Australopithecus) characterized esp. by molars and incisors of similar size that are adapted to a diet including both plant matter and animal flesh

gra·ci·o·so [,grä-sē-'ō-(,)sō, -(,)zō] -n

  1. a buffoon in Spanish comedy

gra·cious ['grā-shəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. godly
  2. pleasing, acceptable
  3. marked by kindness and courtesy
    • a gracious host
  4. graceful
  5. marked by tact and delicacy : urbane
  6. characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit, and the tasteful leisure of wealth and good breeding
    • gracious living
  7. merciful, compassionate used conventionally of royalty and high nobility

grack·le ['gra-kəl] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Quiscalusof the family Icteridae) of large American blackbirds having iridescent black plumage
  2. any of various Asian starlings (as the hill mynahs)

grad ['grad] -n or adj

  1. graduate
  2. one hundredth of a right angle
  3. graduated

gra·da·tion [grā-'dā-shən, grə-] -n, adj, adv

  1. a series forming successive stages
  2. a step or place in an ordered scale
  3. an advance by regular degrees
  4. a gradual passing from one tint or shade to another
  5. the act or process of grading
  6. ablaut

grade ['grād] -n, adj

  1. a position in a scale of ranks or qualities
  2. a stage in a process
  3. a degree of severity in illness
    • grade III carcinoma
  4. a class organized for the work of a particular year of a school course
  5. a military or naval rank
  6. a class of things of the same stage or degree
  7. a mark indicating a degree of accomplishment in school
  8. a standard of food quality
  9. the degree of inclination of a road or slope
  10. a sloping road
  11. a datum or reference level
  12. ground level
  13. a domestic animal with one parent purebred and the other of inferior breeding
  14. the elementary school system
  15. to arrange in grades : sort
  16. to arrange in a scale or series
  17. to assign to a grade or assign a grade to
  18. to level off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface
  19. to form a series
  20. blend
  21. to be of a particular grade
  22. being, involving, or yielding domestic animals of improved but not pure stock
    • grade ewes
    • grade breeding

grade crossing -n

  1. a crossing of highways, railroad tracks, or pedestrian walks or combinations of these on the same level

grade inflation -n

  1. a rise in the average grade assigned to students
  2. the assigning of grades higher than previously assigned for given levels of achievement

grade point -n

  1. one of the points assigned to each course credit (as in a college) in accordance with the letter grade earned in the course called also quality point

grade point average -n

  1. the average obtained by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of credits attempted called also quality point average

grad·er ['grā-dər] -n

  1. one that grades
  2. a machine for leveling earth
  3. a pupil in a school grade
    • a fifth grader

grade school ['grād-,skü-lər] -n

  1. elementary school

grade separation -n

  1. a highway or railroad crossing using an underpass or overpass

grade up -vt

  1. to improve by breeding females to purebred males

gra·di·ent ['grā-dē-ənt] -n

  1. the rate of regular or graded ascent or descent : inclination
  2. a part sloping upward or downward
  3. change in the value of a quantity (as temperature, pressure, or concentration) with change in a given variable and esp. per unit distance in a specified direction
  4. the vector sum of the partial derivatives with respect to the three coordinate variables x, y,and zof a scalar quantity whose value varies from point to point
  5. a graded difference in physiological activity along an axis (as of the body or an embryonic field)
  6. change in response with distance from the stimulus

gra·di·om·e·ter [,grā-dē-'ä-mə-tər] -n

  1. an instrument for measuring the gradient of a physical quantity (as the earth's magnetic field)

grad·u·al ['gra-jə-wəl, -jəl, 'graj-wəl] -n

  1. a book containing the choral parts of the Mass
  2. a pair of verses (as from the Psalms) proper after the Epistle in the Mass

gradual -adj, adv, n

  1. proceeding by steps or degrees
  2. moving, changing, or developing by fine or often imperceptible degrees

grad·u·al·ism [-jə-wə-,li-zəm, -jə-,li-] -n, n or adj, adj

  1. the policy of approaching a desired end by gradual stages
  2. the evolution of new species by gradual accumulation of small genetic changes over long periods of time
  3. a theory or model of evolution emphasizing this

grad·u·and [,gra-jə-'wand] -n

  1. one about to graduate : a candidate for a degree

grad·u·ate ['gra-jə-wət, -,wāt, 'graj-wət] -n

  1. a holder of an academic degree or diploma
  2. a graduated cup, cylinder, or flask

graduate -adj

  1. holding an academic degree or diploma
  2. of, relating to, or engaged in studies beyond the first or bachelor's degree
    • graduate school
    • a graduate student

grad·u·ate ['gra-jə-,wāt] -vb, n

  1. to grant an academic degree or diploma to
  2. to be graduated from
  3. to mark with degrees of measurement
  4. to divide into grades or intervals
  5. to admit to a particular standing or grade
  6. to receive an academic degree or diploma
  7. to pass from one stage of experience, proficiency, or prestige to a usu. higher one
  8. to change gradually

graduated -adj

  1. increasing in rate with increase in taxable base : progressive
    • a graduated income tax

graduated cylinder -n

  1. a tall narrow container with a volume scale used esp. for measuring liquids

grad·u·a·tion [,gra-jə-'wā-shən] -n

  1. a mark on an instrument or vessel indicating degrees or quantity
  2. these marks
  3. the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma
  4. commencement
  5. arrangement in degrees or ranks

graf·fi·ti [grə-'fē-(,)tē, gra-, grä-] -vt

  1. to draw graffiti on : to deface with graffiti
    • graffiti ed walls

graffiti -n

  1. usu. unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface

graf·fi·to [grə-'fē-(,)tō, gra-, grä-] -n

  1. an inscription or drawing made on some public surface (as a rock or wall)
  2. a message or slogan written as or as if as a graffito

graft ['graft] -n

  1. a grafted plant
  2. scion
  3. the point of insertion of a scion upon a stock
  4. the act of grafting
  5. something grafted
  6. living tissue used in grafting
  7. to cause (a scion) to unite with a stock
  8. to unite (plants or scion and stock) to form a graft
  9. to propagate (a plant) by grafting
  10. to join or unite as if by grafting
  11. to attach (a chemical unit) to a main molecular chain
  12. to implant (living tissue) surgically
  13. to become grafted
  14. to perform grafting
  15. work, labor
  16. to get (illicit gain) by graft
  17. to practice graft
  18. the acquisition of gain (as money) in dishonest or questionable ways
  19. illegal or unfair gain

graft·age ['graf-tij] -n

  1. the principles and practice of grafting

graftversushost disease -n

  1. a potentially fatal bodily condition that results when T cells from a tissue or organ transplant and esp. a bone marrow transplant react immunologically against the recipient's antigens attacking cells and tissues

gra·ham cracker ['gram-, 'grā-əm-] -n

  1. a slightly sweet cracker made of whole wheat flour

graham flour -n

  1. whole wheat flour

grail ['grāl] -n

  1. the cup or platter used according to medieval legend by Christ at the Last Supper and thereafter the object of knightly quests
  2. the object of an extended or difficult quest

grain ['grān] -n, adj

  1. a single small hard seed
  2. a seed or fruit of a cereal grass : caryopsis
  3. the seeds or fruits of various food plants including the cereal grasses and in commercial and statutory usage other plants (as the soybean)
  4. plants producing grain
  5. a small hard particle or crystal
  6. any of the particles produced in a photographic material by its development
  7. the size of such grains in the aggregate
  8. an individual crystal in a metal
  9. a minute portion or particle
  10. the least amount possible
    • a grain of truth
  11. kermes or a scarlet dye made from it
  12. cochineal or a brilliant scarlet dye made from it
  13. a fast dye
  14. color, tint
  15. a granulated surface or appearance
  16. the outer or hair side of a skin or hide
  17. a unit of weight based on the weight of a grain of wheat taken as an average of the weight of grains from the middle of the ear
  18. the stratification of the wood fibers in a piece of wood
  19. a texture due to constituent particles or fibers
    • the grain of a rock
  20. the direction of threads in cloth
  21. tactile quality
  22. natural disposition : temper
    • lying goes against my grain
  23. a basic or characteristic quality
  24. a prevalent ideology or convention
    • teaching against the grain
  25. ingrain
  26. to form into grains : granulate
  27. to paint in imitation of the grain of wood or stone
  28. to feed with grain
  29. to become granular : granulate

grain alcohol -n

  1. ethanol

grain elevator -n

  1. a building for elevating, storing, discharging, and sometimes processing grain

grain of salt

  1. a skeptical attitude

grains of paradise

  1. the pungent seeds of a West African plant ( Aframomum melegueta) of the ginger family that are used as a spice

grain sorghum -n

  1. any of several sorghums cultivated primarily for grain

grainy ['grā-nē] -adj, n

  1. resembling or having some characteristic of grain : not smooth or fine
  2. appearing to be composed of grain-like particles

gram ['gram] -n

  1. any of several leguminous plants (as a chickpea) grown esp. for their seed
  2. their seeds
  3. a metric unit of mass equal to kilogram and nearly equal to the mass of one cubic centimeter of water at its maximum density
  4. the weight of a gram under the acceleration of gravity
  5. grandmother
  6. grammar; grammatical

grama ['gra-mə] -n

  1. any of several pasture grasses (genus Bouteloua) of the western U.S.

gramatomic weight -n

  1. the mass of one mole of an element equal in grams to the atomic weight called also gram-atom

gram calorie -n

  1. calorie

gram equivalent -n

  1. the quantity of an element, group, or compound that has a mass in grams equal to the equivalent weight

gra·mer·cy [grə-'mər-sē] -interj

  1. used to express gratitude or surprise

gram·i·ci·din [,gra-mə-'sī-dᵊn] -n

  1. any of several toxic crystalline polypeptide antibiotics produced by a soil bacterium ( Bacillus brevis) and used against gram-positive bacteria in local infections

gra·min·e·ous [grə-'mi-nē-əs] -adj

  1. of or relating to a grass

gram·i·niv·o·rous [,gra-mə-'ni-v(ə-)rəs] -adj

  1. feeding on grass or the seeds of grass
    • graminivorous locusts
    • graminivorous birds

gram·mar ['gra-mər] -n

  1. the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence
  2. a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in inflection and syntax
  3. the characteristic system of inflections and syntax of a language
  4. a system of rules that defines the grammatical structure of a language
  5. a grammar textbook
  6. speech or writing evaluated according to its conformity to grammatical rules
  7. the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique
    • a grammar of the theater
  8. a set of such principles or rules

grammar school -n

  1. a secondary school emphasizing Latin and Greek in preparation for college
  2. a British college preparatory school
  3. a school intermediate between primary school and high school
  4. elementary school

gram·mat·i·cal [grə-'ma-ti-kəl] -adj, n, adv

  1. of or relating to grammar
  2. conforming to the rules of grammar
    • a grammatical sentence

grammatical meaning -n

  1. the part of meaning that varies from one inflectional form to another (as from playsto playedto playing)

gramme ['gram] -n

(variant of gram)

  1. any of several leguminous plants (as a chickpea) grown esp. for their seed
  2. their seeds
  3. a metric unit of mass equal to kilogram and nearly equal to the mass of one cubic centimeter of water at its maximum density
  4. the weight of a gram under the acceleration of gravity
  5. grandmother
  6. grammar; grammatical

gram molecular weight -n

  1. the mass of one mole of a compound equal in grams to the molecular weight called also gram-molecule

Gram·my ['gra-mē] -service mark

  1. used for the annual presentation of a statuette for notable achievement in the recording industry

gramneg·a·tive ['gram-'ne-gə-tiv] -adj

  1. not holding the purple dye when stained by Gram's stain used chiefly of bacteria

gram·o·phone ['gra-mə-,fōn] -n

  1. phonograph

gramps ['gram(p)s] -n

  1. grandfather

grampos·i·tive ['gram-'pä-zə-tiv, -'päz-tiv] -adj

  1. holding the purple dye when stained by Gram's stain used chiefly of bacteria

gram·pus ['gram-pəs] -n

  1. a dolphin ( Grampus griseus) of temperate and tropical seas
  2. any of various small cetaceans
  3. the giant whip scorpion ( Mastigoproctus giganteus) of the southern U.S.

Gram's stain ['gramz-] -n

  1. a method for the differential staining of bacteria by treatment with a watery solution of iodine and the iodide of potassium after staining with a triphenylmethane dye (as crystal violet) called also Gram's method
  2. the chemicals used in Gram's stain

gramvari·able ['gram-'ver-ē-ə-bəl] -adj

  1. staining irregularly or inconsistently by Gram's stain

gran ['gran] -n

  1. grandmother

grana ['grā-nəm] -n

(variant of granum)

  1. one of the lamellar stacks of chlorophyll-containing thylakoids found in plant chloroplasts

gran·a·dil·la [,gran-ə-'di-lə, -'dē-(y)ə] -n

  1. any of various usu. egg-shaped to football-shaped passion fruits (esp. of Passiflora quadrangularisand P. edulis) that have juicy aromatic pulp
  2. a passionflower that produces granadillas

gra·na·ry ['grā-nə-rē, 'gra-] -n

  1. a storehouse for threshed grain
  2. a region producing grain in abundance
  3. a chief source or storehouse

grand ['grand] -adj, adv, n

  1. having more importance than others : foremost
  2. having higher rank than others bearing the same general designation
    • the grand champion
  3. inclusive, comprehensive
    • the grand total of all money paid out
  4. definitive, incontrovertible
    • grand example
  5. chief, principal
  6. large and striking in size, scope, extent, or conception
    • grand design
  7. lavish, sumptuous
    • a grand celebration
  8. marked by a regal form and dignity
  9. fine or imposing in appearance or impression
  10. lofty, sublime
    • writing in the grand style
  11. pretending to social superiority : supercilious
  12. intended to impress
    • a person of grand gestures
  13. very good : wonderful
    • a grand time
  14. grand piano
  15. a thousand dollars

gran·dam ['gran-,dam, -dəm] -n

  1. grandmother
  2. an old woman
  3. a dam's or sire's dam used of an animal

grand·aunt ['grand-'ant, -'änt] -n

  1. the aunt of one's father or mother called also great-aunt

grand·ba·by ['gran(d)-,bā-bē] -n

  1. an infant grandchild

grand·child [-,chī(-ə)ld] -n

  1. the child of one's son or daughter

grand·dad ['gran-,dad] -n

  1. grandfather

grand·dad·dy [-,da-dē] -n

  1. grandfather
  2. one that is the first, earliest, or most venerable of its kind

grand·daugh·ter [-,dȯ-tər] -n

  1. the daughter of one's son or daughter

grand duchess -n

  1. a woman who rules a grand duchy in her own right
  2. the wife or widow of a grand duke

grand duchy -n

  1. the territory or dominion of a grand duke or grand duchess

grand duke -n

  1. the sovereign duke of any of various European states
  2. a male descendant of a Russian czar in the male line

grande dame ['grän-'däm] -n

  1. a usu. elderly woman of great prestige or ability
  2. granddaddy

gran·dee [gran-'dē] -n

  1. a man of elevated rank or station
  2. a Spanish or Portuguese nobleman of the first rank

gran·deur ['gran-jər, -,ju̇r, -,d(y)u̇r, -d(y)ər] -n

  1. the quality or state of being grand : magnificence
    • the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome -- E. A. Poe
  2. an instance or example of grandeur

grand·fa·ther ['gran(d)-,fä-thər] -n, adj

  1. the father of one's father or mother
  2. ancestor
  3. granddaddy

grandfather -vt

  1. to permit to continue under a grandfather clause

grandfather clause -n

  1. a clause creating an exemption based on circumstances previously existing
  2. a provision in several southern state constitutions designed to enfranchise poor whites and disenfranchise blacks by waiving high voting requirements for descendants of men voting before 1867

grandfather clock -n

  1. a tall pendulum clock that stands on the floor called also grandfather grandfather's clock

grand finale -n

  1. a climactic finale (as of an opera)

grand fir -n

  1. a lofty fir tree ( Abies grandis) of the northwestern chiefly Pacific coastal region of No. America with cylindrical greenish cones and soft wood

Grand Gui·gnol [,gräⁿ-gēn-'yȯl, -'yōl] -n, adj

  1. dramatic entertainment featuring the gruesome or horrible

gran·di·flo·ra [,gran-də-'flȯr-ə] -n

  1. a bush rose derived from crosses of floribunda and hybrid tea roses and characterized by production of blooms both singly and in clusters on the same plant

gran·dil·o·quence [gran-'di-lə-kwən(t)s] -n, adj, adv

  1. a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality esp. in language

gran·di·ose ['gran-dē-,ōs, ,gran-dē-'] -adj, adv, n

  1. characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor or by absurd exaggeration
  2. impressive because of uncommon largeness, scope, effect, or grandeur

gran·di·o·so [,grän-dē-'ō-(,)sō, ,gran-, -(,)zō] -adv or adj

  1. in a broad and noble style used as a direction in music

grand jury -n

  1. a jury that examines accusations against persons charged with crime and if the evidence warrants makes formal charges on which the accused persons are later tried

grand·kid ['gran(d)-,kid] -n

  1. grandchild

Grand Lama -n

  1. dalai lama

grand larceny -n

  1. larceny of property of a value greater than that fixed as constituting petit larceny

grand·ma ['gran(d)-,mä, -,mȯ; 'gra-,mä, -,mȯ] -n

  1. grandmother

grand mal ['grän(d)-,mäl, 'gräⁿ-,mäl, -,mal; 'gran(d)-,mal] -n

  1. severe epilepsy characterized by seizures which are initially tonic and then become clonic and by loss of consciousness
  2. a seizure characteristic of grand mal

grand manner -n

  1. an elevated or grand style (as in music or literature)

grand march -n

  1. an opening ceremony at a ball that consists of a march participated in by all the guests

grand marshal -n

  1. a person honored as the ceremonial marshal of a parade

grand master -n

  1. the chief officer of a principal lodge in various fraternal orders (as Freemasonry)
  2. an expert player (as of chess) who has consistently scored high in international competition

grand·moth·er ['gran(d)-,mə-thər] -n, adj

  1. the mother of one's father or mother
  2. a female ancestor

grand·neph·ew ['gran(d)-'nef-(,)yü, chiefly Brit -'nev-] -n

  1. a grandson of one's brother or sister

grand·niece [-'nēs] -n

  1. a granddaughter of one's brother or sister

grand old man -n

  1. a venerated practitioner or former practitioner of an art, profession, or sport
    • the grand old man of jazz

grand opera -n

  1. opera in which the plot is serious or tragic and the entire text is set to music

grand·pa ['gran(d)-,pä, -,pȯ; 'gram-,pä, -,pȯ] -n

  1. grandfather

grand·par·ent ['gran(d)-,per-ənt] -n, adj

  1. a parent of one's father or mother

grand piano -n

  1. a piano with horizontal frame and strings

grand prix ['gräⁿ-'prē] -n

  1. the highest level of international equestrian competition
  2. a contest at this level
  3. one of a series of international formula car races
  4. a high-level competition in another sport (as sailing) that is often part of a series

grand·sire ['gran(d)-,sī(-ə)r] -n

  1. grandfather
  2. forefather
  3. an aged man
  4. a dam's or sire's sire used of an animal

grand slam -n, adj

  1. the winning of all the tricks in one hand of a card game (as bridge)
  2. a clean sweep or total success
  3. the winning of all the major or specified tournaments on a tour
    • twice won the tennis grand slam
  4. a home run hit with the bases loaded

grand·son ['gran(d)-,sən] -n

  1. the son of one's son or daughter

grand·stand [-,stand] -n

  1. a usu. roofed stand for spectators at a racecourse or stadium
  2. audience

grandstand -adj

  1. done for show or to impress onlookers
  2. to play or act so as to impress onlookers

grand theft -n

  1. grand larceny

grand tour -n

  1. an extended tour of the Continent that was formerly a usual part of the education of young British gentlemen
  2. an extensive and usu. educational tour

grand touring car -n

  1. a usu. 2-passenger coupe

grand·un·cle ['grand-'əŋ-kəl] -n

  1. an uncle of one's father or mother

grand unified theory -n

  1. any of several theories that seek to unite in a single mathematical framework the electromagnetic and weak forces with the strong force or with the strong force and gravity called also grand unification theory

grange ['grānj] -n

  1. granary, barn
  2. farm
  3. a farmhouse with outbuildings
  4. one of the lodges of a national fraternal association orig. made up of farmers
  5. the association itself

grang·er ['grān-jər] -n

  1. a member of a Grange
  2. farmer, homesteader

grang·er·ism ['grān-jə-,ri-zəm] -n

  1. the policy or methods of the grangers

gra·ni·ta [grə-'nē-tə] -n

  1. a coarse-textured ice confection typically made from fruit

gran·ite ['gra-nət] -n, adj

  1. a very hard natural igneous rock formation of visibly crystalline texture formed essentially of quartz and orthoclase or microcline and used esp. for building and for monuments
  2. unyielding firmness or endurance
    • the cold granite of Puritan formalism -- V. L. Parrington

gran·ite·ware ['gra-nət-,wer] -n

  1. ironware with grayish or bluish mottled enamel

gra·niv·o·rous [grə-'niv-rəs, grā-, -'ni-və-] -adj

  1. feeding on seeds or grain
    • granivorous rodents

gran·ny ['gra-nē] -n

  1. grandmother
  2. a fussy person
  3. midwife

granny dress -n

  1. a long loose-fitting dress usu. with high neck and long sleeves

granny flat -n

  1. an apartment that is adjacent to the main living quarters of a house

granny glasses -n pl

  1. spectacles with usu. small oval, round, or square lenses and metal frames

granny knot -n

  1. an insecure knot often made instead of a square knot

Granny Smith [-'smith] -n

  1. a tart green apple of Australian origin

grano- -comb form

  1. granite : granitic
    • grano diorite

grano·di·o·rite [,gra-nō-'dī-ə-,rīt] -n, adj

  1. a granular intrusive quartzose igneous rock intermediate between granite and quartz-containing diorite with plagioclase predominant over orthoclase

gra·no·la [grə-'nō-lə] -n

  1. a mixture typically of rolled oats and various added ingredients (as brown sugar, raisins, coconut, and nuts) that is eaten esp. for breakfast or as a snack

grano·lith·ic [,gra-nə-'li-thik] -adj

  1. relating to or composed of a mixture of crushed granite and cement

grano·phyre ['gran-ə-,fī(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. a porphyritic igneous rock chiefly of feldspar and quartz with granular groundmass

grant ['grant] -vt, adj, n

  1. to consent to carry out for a person : allow fulfillment of
    • grant a request
  2. to permit as a right, privilege, or favor
    • luggage allowances grant ed to passengers
  3. to bestow or transfer formally
    • grant a scholarship to a student
  4. to give the possession or title of by a deed
  5. to be willing to concede
  6. to assume to be true
    • grant ing that you are correct
  7. the act of granting
  8. something granted
  9. a gift (as of land or money) for a particular purpose
  10. a transfer of property by deed or writing
  11. the instrument by which such a transfer is made
  12. the property so transferred
  13. a minor territorial division of Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont orig. granted by the state to an individual or institution

grant·ee [gran-'tē] -n

  1. one to whom a grant is made

grantinaid [,grant-ᵊn-'ād] -n

  1. a grant or subsidy for public funds paid by a central to a local government in aid of a public undertaking
  2. a grant or subsidy to a school or individual for an educational or artistic project

Grant's gazelle ['gran(t)s-] -n

  1. a large tan gazelle ( Gazella granti) of eastern Africa from the Sudan and Ethiopia to Kenya and Uganda with long graceful horns and a white rump bordered with black

grants·man ['gran(t)-smən] -n

  1. a specialist in grantsmanship

grants·man·ship [-,ship] -n

  1. the art of obtaining grants

granul- -comb form

  1. granule
    • granulo cyte

gran·u·lar ['gran-yə-lər] -adj, n

  1. consisting of or appearing to consist of granules : grainy
  2. finely detailed
    • granular reports

gran·u·late ['gran-yə-,lāt] -vb, n

  1. to form or crystallize into grains or granules
  2. to form granulations
    • an open granulating wound

gran·u·la·tion [,gran-yə-'lā-shən] -n

  1. the act or process of granulating : the condition of being granulated
  2. one of the minute red granules of new capillaries formed on the surface of a wound in healing
  3. granule

granulation tissue -n

  1. tissue made up of granulations that temporarily replaces lost tissue in a wound

gran·ule ['gran-(,)yül] -n

  1. a small particle
  2. one of numerous particles forming a larger unit
  3. any of the small short-lived brilliant spots on the sun's photosphere

gran·u·lite ['gran-yə-,līt] -n, adj

  1. a granular metamorphic rock consisting mainly of feldspar and quartz

gran·u·lo·cyte ['gran-yə-lō-,sīt] -n, adj

  1. a polymorphonuclear white blood cell with granule-containing cytoplasm

gran·u·lo·cy·to·poi·e·sis ['gran-yə-lō-,sī-tə-pȯi-'ē-səs] -n

  1. the formation of blood granulocytes typically in the bone marrow

gran·u·lo·ma [,gran-yə-'lō-mə] -n, adj

  1. a mass or nodule of chronically inflamed tissue with granulations that is usu. associated with an infective process

granuloma in·gui·na·le [-,iŋ-gwə-'na-lē, -'nä-, -'nā-] -n

  1. a sexually transmitted disease characterized by ulceration and formation of granulations on the genitalia and in the groin area and caused by a bacterium ( Calymmatobacterium granulomatissyn. Donovania granulomatis)

gran·u·lo·sa cell [,gran-yə-'lō-sə-] -n

  1. one of the estrogen-secreting cells of the epithelial lining of a graafian follicle or its follicular precursor

gran·u·lose ['gran-yə-,lōs] -adj

  1. granular
  2. having the surface roughened with granules

gran·u·lo·sis [,gran-yə-'lō-səs] -n

  1. any of several diseases of lepidopteran larvae marked by minute granular inclusions in infected cells and caused by viruses (genus Granulovirusof the family Baculoviridae)

gra·num ['grā-nəm] -n

  1. one of the lamellar stacks of chlorophyll-containing thylakoids found in plant chloroplasts

grape ['grāp] -n, adj

  1. a smooth-skinned juicy greenish-white to deep red or purple berry eaten dried or fresh as a fruit or fermented to produce wine
  2. any of numerous woody vines (genus Vitisof the family Vitaceae, the grape family) that usu. climb by tendrils, produce grapes, and are nearly cosmopolitan in cultivation
  3. grapeshot

grape·fruit ['grāp-,früt] -n

  1. a large citrus fruit with a bitter yellow rind and inner skin and a highly flavored somewhat acid juicy pulp
  2. a small roundheaded tree ( Citrus paradisi) of the rue family that produces grapefruit

grape hyacinth -n

  1. any of several small bulbous spring-flowering herbs (genus Muscari) of the lily family with racemes of usu. blue flowers

grape·shot ['grāp-,shät] -n

  1. an antipersonnel weapon consisting of a cluster of small iron balls shot from a cannon

grape sugar -n

  1. dextrose

grape·vine ['grāp-,vīn] -n

  1. grape
  2. an informal person-to-person means of circulating information or gossip
    • heard it through the grapevine
  3. a secret source of information

grapey ['grā-pē] -adj, n

(variant of grapy)

  1. of or relating to grapes
  2. having the taste or aroma of fresh grapes

graph ['graf] -n

  1. the collection of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given relation (as a function)
  2. a diagram (as a series of one or more points, lines, line segments, curves, or areas) that represents the variation of a variable in comparison with that of one or more other variables
  3. a collection of vertices and edges that join pairs of vertices
  4. to represent by a graph
  5. to plot on a graph
  6. a written or printed representation of a basic unit of speech (as a phoneme or syllable)
  7. grapheme
  8. a single occurrence of a letter of an alphabet in any of its various shapes

graph·eme ['gra-,fēm] -n, adj, adv

  1. a unit (as a letter or digraph) of a writing system
  2. the set of units of a writing system (as letters and letter combinations) that represent a phoneme

gra·phe·mics [gra-'fē-miks] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. the study and analysis of a writing system in terms of graphemes

graph·ic ['gra-fik] -adj, adv, n

  1. of or relating to the pictorial arts
  2. pictorial
  3. of, relating to, or involving such reproductive methods as those of engraving, etching, lithography, photography, serigraphy, and woodcut
  4. of or relating to the art of printing
  5. relating or according to graphics
  6. formed by writing, drawing, or engraving
  7. marked by clear lifelike or vividly realistic description
  8. vividly or plainly shown or described
    • a graphic sex scene
  9. of, relating to, or represented by a graph
  10. of or relating to the written or printed word or the symbols or devices used in writing or printing to represent sound or convey meaning

graphic -n

  1. a product of graphic art
  2. the graphic media
  3. a graphic representation (as a picture, map, or graph) used esp. for illustration
  4. a pictorial image displayed on a computer screen
    • the program's graphic s are impressive
  5. the art or science of drawing a representation of an object on a two-dimensional surface according to mathematical rules of projection
  6. the process whereby a computer displays graphics
  7. a printed message superimposed on a television picture

graph·i·ca·cy ['gra-fə-kə-sē] -n

  1. the ability to understand, use, or generate graphic images (as maps and diagrams)

graphical user interface -n

  1. a computer program designed to allow a computer user to interact easily with the computer typically by making choices from menus or groups of icons

graphic arts -n pl

  1. the fine and applied arts of representation, decoration, and writing or printing on flat surfaces together with the techniques and crafts associated with them

graphic design -n

  1. the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect
  2. a product of this art

graphic equalizer -n

  1. an electronic device for adjusting the frequency response of an audio system by means of a number of controls each of which adjusts the response for a band centered on a particular frequency

graphic novel -n

  1. a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a book

graphics tablet -n

  1. a device by which pictorial information is entered into a computer in a manner similar to drawing

graph·ite ['gra-,fīt] -n, adj

  1. a soft black lustrous form of carbon that conducts electricity and is used in lead pencils and electrolytic anodes, as a lubricant, and as a moderator in nuclear reactors
  2. a composite material in which carbon fibers are the reinforcing material

graph·i·tize ['gra-fə-,tīz, -,fīt-īz] -vt, adj, n

  1. to convert into graphite

grapho- -comb form

  1. writing
    • grapho lect

graph·o·lect ['gra-fə-,lekt] -n

  1. a standard written language

gra·phol·o·gist [gra-'fä-lə-jist] -n

  1. a specialist in graphology

gra·phol·o·gy [-jē] -n, adj

  1. the study of handwriting esp. for the purpose of character analysis

graph paper -n

  1. paper ruled for drawing graphs

graph theory -n

  1. a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of graphs

grap·nel ['grap-nᵊl] -n

  1. a small anchor with usu. four or five flukes used esp. to recover a sunken object or to anchor a small boat

grap·pa ['grä-pə] -n

  1. a dry colorless brandy distilled from fermented grape pomace

grap·ple ['gra-pəl] -n

  1. the act or an instance of grappling
  2. a hand-to-hand struggle
  3. a contest for superiority or mastery
  4. a bucket similar to a clamshell but usu. having more jaws

grapple ['gra-p(ə-)liŋ] -vb, n

  1. to seize with or as if with a grapple
  2. to come to grips with : wrestle
  3. to bind closely
  4. to make a ship fast with a grappling hook
  5. to come to grips
  6. to use a grapple

grappling -n

  1. grapnel
  2. grappling hook

grappling hook -n

  1. a hook usu. with multiple prongs that is typically attached to a rope and is used for grabbing, grappling, or gripping called also grappling iron

grap·to·lite ['grap-tə-,līt] -n

  1. any of an extinct class (Graptolithina) of hemichordate colonial marine animals of the Paleozoic era with zooids contained in conical cups along a chitinous support

grapy ['grā-pē] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to grapes
  2. having the taste or aroma of fresh grapes

GRAS -abbr

  1. generally recognized as safe; generally regarded as safe

grasp ['grasp] -vb, adj, n

  1. to make the motion of seizing : clutch
  2. to take or seize eagerly
  3. to clasp or embrace esp. with the fingers or arms
  4. to lay hold of with the mind : comprehend
  5. handle
  6. embrace
  7. hold, control
  8. the reach of the arms
  9. the power of seizing and holding or attaining
    • success lay within their grasp
  10. mental hold or comprehension esp. when broad
    • a remarkable grasp of the subject

grasp·ing ['gras-piŋ] -adj, adv, n

  1. desiring material possessions urgently and excessively and often to the point of ruthlessness

grass ['gras] -n, adj

  1. herbage suitable or used for grazing animals
  2. any of a large family (Gramineae syn. Poaceae) of monocotyledonous mostly herbaceous plants with jointed stems, slender sheathing leaves, and flowers borne in spikelets of bracts
  3. land (as a lawn or a turf racetrack) covered with growing grass
    • keep off the grass
    • the horse had never won on grass
  4. leaves or plants of grass
  5. a state or place of retirement
    • put out to grass
  6. a police informer
  7. electronic noise on a radarscope that takes the form of vertical lines resembling lawn grass
  8. marijuana
  9. to feed (livestock) on grass sometimes without grain or other concentrates
  10. to cover with grass
  11. to seed to grass
  12. to produce grass
  13. inform often used with on

grass carp -n

  1. an herbivorous cyprinid fish ( Ctenopharyngodon idella) of eastern Asia that has been introduced elsewhere to control aquatic weeds called also white amur

grass cloth -n

  1. a lustrous plain textile of usu. loosely woven fibers

grass court -n

  1. a tennis court with a grass surface

grass·hop·per ['gras-,hä-pər] -n

  1. any of numerous plant-eating orthopterous insects (Acrididae, Tettigoniidae, and some related families) having the hind legs adapted for leaping and sometimes engaging in migratory flights in which whole regions may be stripped of vegetation
  2. a cocktail made with creme de menthe, creme de cacao, and light cream

grasshopper sparrow -n

  1. a small American sparrow ( Ammodramus savannarum) that is grayish brown above with a pale belly and has a high-pitched buzzing song that resembles the stridulation of grasshoppers

grass·land [-,land] -n

  1. farmland occupied chiefly by forage plants and esp. grasses
  2. land on which the natural dominant plant forms are grasses and forbs
  3. an ecological community in which the characteristic plants are grasses

grass·roots ['gras-,rüts, -,ru̇ts] -adj

  1. basic, fundamental
    • the grassroots factor in deciding to buy a house
  2. being, originating, or operating in or at the grass roots
    • a grassroots organization
    • grassroots political support
  3. not adapted from or added to an existing facility or operation : totally new
    • a grassroots refinery

grass roots -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. the very foundation or source
  2. the basic level of society or of an organization esp. as viewed in relation to higher or more centralized positions of power

grass tree -n

  1. any of a genus ( Xanthorrhoea) of Australian plants of the lily family with a thick woody trunk bearing a cluster of stiff linear leaves and a terminal spike of small flowers

grass widow -n

  1. a discarded mistress
  2. a woman who has had an illegitimate child
  3. a woman whose husband is temporarily away from her
  4. a woman divorced or separated from her husband

grass widower -n

  1. a man divorced or separated from his wife
  2. a man whose wife is temporarily away from him

grassy ['gra-sē] -adj

  1. covered or abounding with grass
    • grassy lawns
  2. having a flavor or odor of grass
    • grassy tea
    • wine with a grassy bouquet
  3. resembling grass esp. in color

grat ['grēt] -vt, n

(variant of greet)

  1. to address with expression of kind wishes upon meeting or arrival
    • greet ed guests at the door
  2. to meet or react to in a specified manner
    • greet ed him with boos
  3. to occur as a response to
    • apathy greet ed the plan
  4. to appear to the perception of
    • a surprising sight greet ed her eyes
  5. weep, lament

grate ['grāt] -vb, n, adv

  1. abrade
  2. to reduce to small particles by rubbing on something rough
    • grate cheese
  3. fret, irritate
  4. to gnash or grind noisily
  5. to cause to make a rasping sound
  6. to utter in a harsh voice
  7. to rub or rasp noisily
  8. to cause irritation : jar
    • a voice that grate s on the nerves
  9. a barred frame for cooking over a fire
  10. a frame or bed of iron bars to hold a stove or furnace fire
  11. fireplace
  12. grating
  13. cage, prison
  14. to furnish with a grate

grate·ful ['grāt-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. appreciative of benefits received
  2. expressing gratitude
    • grateful thanks
  3. affording pleasure or contentment : pleasing
  4. pleasing by reason of comfort supplied or discomfort alleviated

grat·i·cule ['gra-tə-,kyül] -n

  1. reticle
  2. the network of lines of latitude and longitude upon which a map is drawn

grat·i·fi·ca·tion [,gra-tə-fə-'kā-shən] -n

  1. reward, recompense
  2. gratuity
  3. the act of gratifying : the state of being gratified
  4. a source of satisfaction or pleasure

grat·i·fy ['gra-tə-,fī] -vt

  1. remunerate, reward
  2. to be a source of or give pleasure or satisfaction to
    • it gratified him to have his wife wear jewels -- Willa Cather
  3. to give in to : indulge, satisfy
    • gratify a whim

grat·i·fy·ing [-iŋ-lē] -adj, adv

  1. giving pleasure or satisfaction : pleasing
    • a gratifying result

gra·tin ['gra-tᵊn, 'grä-] -n

  1. a brown crust formed on food that has been cooked au gratin
  2. a dish so cooked
  3. upper crust
    • the gratin of London society

gra·ti·ne [,gra-tə-'nā, ,grä-] -adj

  1. au gratin

gra·ti·nee [,gra-tə-'nā, ,grä-] -vt

  1. to cook au gratin

grating -n

  1. a wooden or metal lattice used to close or floor an opening
  2. a partition, covering, or frame of parallel bars or crossbars
  3. a system of close equidistant and parallel lines or bars ruled on a polished surface to produce spectra by diffraction

gra·tis ['gra-təs, 'grā-] -adv or adj

  1. without charge or recompense : free
    • the food was supplied gratis

grat·i·tude ['gra-tə-,tüd, -,tyüd] -n

  1. the state of being grateful : thankfulness

gra·tu·itous [grə-'tü-ə-təs, -'tyü-] -adj, adv, n

  1. given unearned or without recompense
  2. not involving a return benefit, compensation, or consideration
  3. costing nothing : free
  4. not called for by the circumstances : unwarranted
    • gratuitous insolence
    • a gratuitous assumption

gra·tu·ity [grə-'tü-ə-tē, -'tyü-] -n

  1. something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usu. for some service
  2. tip

grat·u·late ['gra-chə-,lāt] -vt, n, adj

  1. congratulate

grau·pel ['grau̇-pəl] -n

  1. granular snow pellets called also soft hail

Grau·stark ['grau̇-,stärk, 'grȯ-] -n, adj

  1. an imaginary land of high romance
  2. a highly romantic piece of writing

gra·va·men [grə-'vā-mən] -n

  1. the material or significant part of a grievance or complaint

grave ['grāv] -vt

  1. dig, excavate
  2. to carve or shape with a chisel : sculpture
  3. to carve or cut (as letters or figures) into a hard surface : engrave
  4. to impress or fix (as a thought) deeply
  5. an excavation for burial of a body
  6. a burial place
  7. death
  8. death
  9. to clean and pay with pitch
    • grave a ship's bottom
  10. authoritative, weighty
  11. meriting serious consideration : important
    • grave problems
  12. likely to produce great harm or danger
    • a grave mistake
  13. significantly serious : considerable, great
    • grave importance
  14. having a serious and dignified quality or demeanor
    • a grave and thoughtful look
  15. drab in color : somber
  16. low-pitched in sound
  17. having the form
  18. marked with a grave accent
  19. of the variety indicated by a grave accent
  20. 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 (as ein French), that a final eis stressed and close and that a final ois 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 eof the English ending -edis to be pronounced (as in this cursed day)

gra·ve ['grä-(,)vā] -adv or adj

  1. slowly and solemnly used as a direction in music

grav·el ['gra-vəl] -n

  1. sand
  2. loose rounded fragments of rock
  3. a stratum or deposit of gravel
  4. a surface covered with gravel
    • a gravel road
  5. small calculi in the kidneys and urinary bladder

gravel ['grav-liŋ, 'gra-və-] -vt

  1. to cover or spread with gravel
  2. perplex, confound
  3. irritate, nettle
    • disappointed...and gravel ed him a good deal -- Mark Twain
  4. gravelly used of the human voice

grav·elblind ['gra-vəl-,blīnd] -adj

  1. having very weak vision

grave·less ['grāv-ləs] -adj

  1. not buried
    • these graveless bones
  2. not requiring graves : deathless
    • the graveless home of the blessed

grav·el·ly ['grav-lē, 'gra-və-] -adj

  1. of, containing, or covered with gravel
  2. having a rough or grating sound
    • a gravelly voice

graven image -n

  1. an object of worship carved usu. from wood or stone : idol

grav·er ['grā-vər] -n

  1. sculptor, engraver
  2. any of various cutting or shaving tools used in graving or in hand metal-turning

Graves' disease ['grāvz-] -n

  1. a common form of hyperthyroidism characterized by goiter and often a slight protrusion of the eyeballs

grave·side ['grāv-,sīd] -n

  1. the area beside a grave
    • at graveside

grave·stone ['grāv-,stōn] -n

  1. a burial monument

grave·yard [-,yärd] -n

  1. cemetery
  2. something resembling a graveyard
    • an automobile graveyard

graveyard shift -n

  1. a work shift beginning late at night (as 11 o'clock)
  2. the workers on such a shift

gravi- -comb form

  1. weight
    • gravi metric

grav·id ['gra-vəd] -adj, n

  1. pregnant
  2. distended with or full of eggs
    • a gravid fish

grav·i·da ['gra-və-də] -n

  1. a pregnant woman often used with a number to indicate the number of pregnancies a woman has had
    • a gravida 4

gra·vi·me·ter [gra-'vi-mə-tər, 'gra-və-,mē-] -n

  1. a sensitive weighing instrument for measuring variations in a gravitational field (as of a planet)

gravi·met·ric [,gra-və-'me-trik] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to measurement by weight
  2. of or relating to variations in the gravitational field determined by means of a gravimeter

gra·vim·e·try [gra-'vi-mə-trē] -n

  1. the measurement of weight, a gravitational field, or density

graving dock -n

  1. dry dock

grav·i·tas ['gra-və-,täs, -,tas] -n

  1. high seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject)

grav·i·tate ['gra-və-,tāt] -vi

  1. to move under the influence of gravitation
  2. to move toward something
  3. to be drawn or attracted esp. by natural inclination
    • youngsters...gravitate toward a strong leader -- Rose Friedman

grav·i·ta·tion [,gra-və-'tā-shən] -n, adj, adv

  1. a force manifested by acceleration toward each other of two free material particles or bodies or of radiant-energy quanta : gravity
  2. the action or process of gravitating

gravitational lens -n

  1. a massive celestial object (as a galaxy) that bends and focuses the light of another more distant object (as a quasar) by gravity and that is usu. detected by the multiple images it forms of the second object

gravitational radiation -n

  1. a series of gravitational waves
  2. the generation of such waves (as by a celestial object)

gravitational wave -n

  1. a hypothetical wave held to travel at the speed of light and to propagate the gravitational field

grav·i·ti·no [,gra-və-'tē-nō] -n

  1. a hypothetical fermion that is associated with the graviton in theories of supergravity

grav·i·ton ['gra-və-,tän] -n

  1. a hypothetical particle with zero charge and rest mass that is held to be the quantum of the gravitational field

grav·i·ty ['gra-və-tē] -n

  1. dignity or sobriety of bearing
  2. importance, significance
  3. seriousness
  4. a serious situation or problem
  5. weight
  6. the gravitational attraction of the mass of the earth, the moon, or a planet for bodies at or near its surface
  7. a fundamental physical force that is responsible for interactions which occur because of mass between particles, between aggregations of matter (as stars and planets), and between particles (as photons) and aggregations of matter, that is 10 -39times the strength of the strong force, and that extends over infinite distances but is dominant over macroscopic distances esp. between aggregations of matter called also gravitation gravitational force
  8. acceleration of gravity
  9. specific gravity

gravity wave -n

  1. a wave in a fluid (as the ocean or the atmosphere) which is propagated because of the tendency of gravity to maintain a uniform level or in which gravity is the restoring force
  2. gravitational wave

grav·lax ['gräv-,läks] -n

  1. salmon usu. cured with salt, pepper, dill, and aquavit

gra·vure [grə-'vyu̇r, grā-] -n

  1. photogravure

gra·vy ['grā-vē] -n

  1. a sauce made from the thickened and seasoned juices of cooked meat
  2. something additional or unexpected that is pleasing or valuable
    • with expenses now paid, future money is pure gravy -- K. Crossen
  3. unearned or illicit gain : graft

gravy train -n

  1. a much exploited source of easy money
  2. gravy

gray ['grā] -adj, adv, n

  1. of the color gray
  2. tending toward gray
    • blue- gray eyes
  3. dull in color
  4. having the hair gray : hoary
  5. clothed in gray
  6. lacking cheer or brightness in mood, outlook, style, or flavor
  7. dismal, gloomy
    • a gray day
  8. prosaically ordinary : dull, uninteresting
  9. having an intermediate and often vaguely defined position, condition, or character
    • an ethically gray area
  10. something (as an animal, garment, cloth, or spot) of a gray color
  11. any of a series of neutral colors ranging between black and white
  12. a soldier in the Confederate army during the American Civil War
  13. the Confederate army
  14. to make gray
  15. to become gray
  16. age
  17. to contain an increasing percentage of older people
  18. the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material abbr. Gy

gray·beard ['grā-,bird] -n

  1. an old man

gray birch -n

  1. a small birch ( Betula populifolia) of northeastern No. America that has many lateral branches, grayish-white bark, triangular leaves, and soft weak wood and that occurs esp. in old fields reverting to woodland
  2. yellow birch

gray eminence -n

  1. a person who exercises power behind the scenes

gray·fish ['grā-,fish] -n

  1. dogfish

gray fox -n

  1. a fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus) with coarse gray hair and white underparts that occurs from southern Canada to northern So. America

gray·ish ['grā-ish] -adj

  1. somewhat gray
  2. low in saturation

gray·ling ['grā-liŋ] -n

  1. any of several freshwater salmonoid fishes (genus Thymallus) valued as food and sport fishes

gray literature -n

  1. written material (as a report) that is not published commercially or is not generally accessible

gray market -n

  1. a market employing irregular but not illegal methods
  2. a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer

gray matter -n

  1. neural tissue esp. of the brain and spinal cord that contains nerve-cell bodies as well as nerve fibers and has a brownish-gray color
  2. brains, intellect

gray scale ['grā-,skāl] -n, adj

  1. a series of regularly spaced tones ranging from black to white through intermediate shades of gray
  2. an image composed solely of gray scale tones

gray squirrel -n

  1. a common light gray to black squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis) that is native to eastern No. America and has been introduced into Great Britain and So. Africa

gray·wacke ['grā-,wak, -,wa-kə] -n

  1. a coarse usu. dark gray sandstone or fine-grained conglomerate composed of firmly cemented fragments (as of quartz or feldspar)

gray water -n

  1. household wastewater (as from a sink or bath) that does not contain serious contaminants (as from toilets or diapers)

gray whale -n

  1. a large baleen whale ( Eschrichtius robustus) of the northern Pacific having short jaws and no dorsal fin

gray wolf -n

  1. a large usu. gray Holarctic wolf ( Canis lupus) now rare in the more southern parts of its range called also timber wolf

graze ['grāz] -vb, adj, n

  1. to feed on growing herbage, attached algae, or phytoplankton
  2. to eat small portions of food throughout the day
  3. to crop and eat in the field
  4. to feed on the herbage of
  5. to put to graze
  6. to put cattle to graze on
  7. to supply herbage for the grazing of
  8. an act of grazing
  9. herbage for grazing
  10. to touch lightly in passing
  11. abrade, scratch
    • grazed her knee when she fell
  12. to touch or rub against something in passing
  13. a scraping along a surface or an abrasion made by it
  14. a superficial abrasion of the skin

gra·zier ['grā-zhər] -n

  1. a person who grazes cattle
  2. rancher
  3. a sheep raiser

grazing -n

  1. herbage or land for grazing

GRE [,jē-,är-'ē] -trademark

  1. used for a series of standardized tests designed to evaluate qualification for admission to graduate education programs

grease ['grēs] -n, adj

  1. rendered animal fat
  2. oily matter
  3. a thick lubricant
  4. wool as it comes from the sheep retaining the natural oils or fats
  5. to smear or daub with grease
  6. to lubricate with grease
  7. to soil with grease
  8. to hasten the process or progress of
  9. facilitate

grease·ball ['grēs-,bȯl] -n

  1. a person of Hispanic or Mediterranean descent

grease monkey -n

  1. mechanic

grease·paint ['grēs-,pānt] -n

  1. a melted tallow or grease used in theater makeup
  2. theater makeup

grease pencil -n

  1. a pencil in which the marking substance is pigment and grease

greaseproof paper -n

  1. a heavy stiff waxed paper called also greaseproof

greas·er ['grē-zər, -sər] -n

  1. one that greases
  2. a native or inhabitant of Latin America or a Mediterranean land
  3. mexican
  4. an aggressive swaggering young white male usu. of working-class background

grease·wood ['grēs-,wu̇d] -n

  1. a low stiff shrub ( Sarcobatus vermiculatus) of the goosefoot family common in alkaline soils in the western U.S.
  2. any of various related or similar shrubs

greasy ['grē-sē, -zē] -adj, adv, n

  1. smeared or soiled with grease
    • greasy clothes
  2. oily in appearance, texture, or manner
    • his greasy smile -- Jack London
  3. slippery
  4. containing an unusual amount of grease
    • greasy food

greasy spoon -n

  1. a dingy small cheap restaurant

great ['grāt, Southern also 'gre(ə)t] -adj, n

  1. notably large in size : huge
  2. of a kind characterized by relative largeness used in plant and animal names
  3. elaborate, ample
    • great detail
  4. large in number or measure : numerous
    • great multitudes
  5. predominant
    • the great majority
  6. remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness
    • great bloodshed
  7. full of emotion
    • great with anger
  8. eminent, distinguished
    • a great poet
  9. chief or preeminent over others often used in titles
    • Lord Great Chamberlain
  10. aristocratic, grand
    • great ladies
  11. long continued
    • a great while
  12. principal, main
    • a reception in the great hall
  13. more remote in a family relationship by a single generation than a specified relative
    • great -grandfather
  14. markedly superior in character or quality
  15. noble
    • great of soul
  16. remarkably skilled
    • great at tennis
  17. marked by enthusiasm : keen
    • great on science fiction
  18. used as a generalized term of approval
    • had a great time
    • it was just great
  19. in a great manner : successfully, well
    • things are going great
  20. an outstandingly superior or skillful person
    • a tribute to the great s of baseball

great ape -n

  1. any of a family (Pongidae) of primates including the gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzees called also pongid

great auk -n

  1. an extinct large flightless auk ( Pinguinus impennis) formerly abundant along No. Atlantic coasts

greataunt -n

  1. grandaunt

Great Bear -n

  1. ursa major

great blue heron -n

  1. a large slaty-blue American heron ( Ardea herodias) with a crested head

great circle -n

  1. a circle formed on the surface of a sphere by the intersection of a plane that passes through the center of the sphere
  2. such a circle on the surface of the earth an arc of which connecting two terrestrial points constitutes the shortest distance on the earth's surface between them

great·coat ['grāt-,kōt] -n

  1. a heavy overcoat

Great Dane -n

  1. any of a breed of tall massive powerful smooth-coated dogs

great divide -n

  1. a significant point of division
  2. death

great egret -n

  1. a large white heron ( Ardea albasyn. Casmerodius albus) with a yellow bill and black legs and feet that occurs in New and Old World temperate and tropical regions

great·en ['grā-tᵊn] -vb

  1. to make greater
  2. to become greater

great·er ['grā-tər] -adj

  1. consisting of a central city together with adjacent areas that are naturally or administratively connected with it
    • Greater London

greater yellowlegs -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a common No. American bird of marsh and shore ( Tringa melanoleuca) that is largely gray above and white below with black or dark gray flecks and yellow legs

greatest common divisor -n

  1. the largest integer or the polynomial of highest degree that is an exact divisor of each of two or more integers or polynomials called also greatest common factor

great group -n

  1. a category below the suborder and above the subgroup in the hierarchy of soil classification comprising one or more subgroups based on similarities in horizons or characteristics of moisture or temperature called also great soil group

great·heart·ed ['grāt-,här-təd] -adj, adv, n

  1. characterized by bravery : courageous
  2. generous, magnanimous

great horned owl -n

  1. a large American owl ( Bubo virginianus) with conspicuous ear tufts

great house -n

  1. the main house of an estate or plantation

great laurel -n

  1. a large-leaved evergreen rhododendron ( Rhododendron maximum) of eastern No. America with rosy bell-shaped flowers more or less speckled with green called also rosebay rhododendron

great·ly ['grāt-lē] -adv

  1. to a great extent or degree : very much
    • contributed greatly to improved relations
    • not greatly bothered
  2. in a great manner : nobly, magnanimously
    • a man may live greatly in the law -- O. W. Holmes 1935

Great Mogul -n

  1. the sovereign of the empire founded in India by the Moguls in the 16th century

greatnephew -n

  1. grandnephew

greatniece -n

  1. grandniece

great northern bean -n

  1. a large white kidney bean

great power -n

  1. one of the nations that figure most decisively in international affairs : superpower

Great Pyr·e·nees [-'pir-ə-,nēz] -n

  1. any of a breed of large heavy-coated white dogs often used to guard livestock

great room -n

  1. a large room in a residence usu. serving several functions (as of a dining room, living room, and family room)

Great Russian -n, adj

  1. russian

great seal -n

  1. a large seal that constitutes an emblem of sovereignty and is used esp. for the authentication of important documents

great skua -n

  1. a large seabird ( Stercorarius skuasyn. Catharacta skua) that is related to the jaegers, has dusky plumage and broad rounded wings, breeds chiefly along arctic and antarctic shores, and forages over most cold and temperate seas

greatuncle -n

  1. granduncle

great vowel shift -n

  1. a change in pronunciation of the long vowels of Middle English that began in the 15th century and continued into the 16th century in which the high vowels were diphthongized and the other vowels were raised

great white shark -n

  1. a large mackerel shark ( Carcharodon carcharias) of warm seas that is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age and is a man-eater called also white shark

great year -n

  1. the period of about 25,800 years required for one complete cycle of the equinoxes around the ecliptic

greave ['grēv] -n

  1. armor for the shin

grebe ['grēb] -n

  1. any of a family (Podicipedidae) of swimming and diving birds closely related to the loons but having lobed toes

Gre·cian ['grē-shən] -adj, n, vt

  1. greek

Gre·cism ['grē-,si-zəm] -n

  1. a Greek idiom
  2. a quality or style imitative of Greek art or culture

gre·cize [-,sīz] -vt

  1. to make Greek or Hellenistic in character

Gre·co- ['gre-kō, 'grē-] -comb form

  1. Greece : Greeks
    • Greco phile
  2. Greek and
    • Graeco- Roman

gree ['grē] -n

  1. mastery, superiority
  2. agree

greed ['grēd] -n

  1. a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed

greedy ['grē-dē] -adj, adv, n

  1. having a strong desire for food or drink
  2. marked by greed : having or showing a selfish desire for wealth and possessions
  3. eager, keen
    • greedy for fame

Greek ['grēk] -n

  1. a native or inhabitant of ancient or modern Greece
  2. a person of Greek descent
  3. the language used by the Greeks from prehistoric times to the present constituting a branch of Indo-European
  4. ancient Greek as used from the time of the earliest records to the end of the second century a.d.
  5. something unintelligible
    • it's Greek to me
  6. a member of a Greek-letter fraternity or sorority
  7. of, relating to, or characteristic of Greece, the Greeks, or Greek
    • Greek architecture
  8. eastern orthodox
  9. of or relating to an Eastern church using the Byzantine rite in Greek
  10. of or relating to the established Orthodox church of Greece
  11. of or relating to fraternities or sororities
    • the Greek system

Greek Catholic -n

  1. a member of an Eastern rite of the Roman Catholic Church
  2. a member of an Eastern church

Greek cross -n

  1. a cross having an upright and a transverse shaft equal in length and intersecting at their middles

Greek fire -n

  1. an incendiary composition used in warfare by the Byzantine Greeks that is said to have burst into flame on wetting

Greek·less ['grēk-ləs] -adj

  1. not proficient in Greek

Greek Orthodox -adj

  1. eastern orthodox
  2. greek

Greek Revival -n

  1. a style of architecture in the first half of the 19th century marked by the use or imitation of Greek orders
  2. a style of decoration (as of furniture) using or imitating the decorative motifs of ancient Greece

green ['grēn] -adj, n, adv

  1. of the color green
  2. covered by green growth or foliage
    • green fields
  3. mild, clement
  4. consisting of green plants and usu. edible herbage
    • a green salad
  5. pleasantly alluring
  6. youthful, vigorous
  7. not ripened or matured
    • green apples
  8. fresh, new
  9. marked by a pale, sickly, or nauseated appearance
  10. envious used esp. in the phrase green with envy
  11. : not fully processed or treated: as
  12. not aged
    • green liquor
  13. not dressed or tanned
    • green hides
  14. freshly sawed
  15. not in condition for a particular use
  16. deficient in training, knowledge, or experience
    • green recruits
  17. deficient in sophistication and savoir faire : naive
  18. not fully qualified for or experienced in a particular function
  19. relating to or being an environmentalist political movement
  20. concerned with or supporting environmentalism
  21. tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)
  22. to become green
  23. to make green
  24. rejuvenate, revitalize
  25. a color whose hue is somewhat less yellow than that of growing fresh grass or of the emerald or is that of the part of the spectrum lying between blue and yellow
  26. something of a green color
  27. : green vegetation: as
  28. leafy parts of plants for use as decoration
  29. leafy herbs (as spinach, dandelions, or Swiss chard) that are cooked as a vegetable
  30. green vegetables
  31. : a grassy plain or plot: as
  32. a common or park in the center of a town or village
  33. putting green
  34. money
  35. greenbacks
  36. environmentalist
  37. a member of an activist political party focusing on environmental and social issues

green alga -n

  1. any of a division (Chlorophyta) of green-colored algae that have chloroplasts and occur esp. in freshwater

green·back ['grēn-,bak] -n

  1. a legal-tender note issued by the U.S. government

green·back·er [-,ba-kər] -n

  1. a member of a post-Civil War American political party opposing reduction in the amount of paper money in circulation
  2. one who advocates a paper currency backed only by the U.S. government

green bean -n

  1. a kidney bean that is used as a snap bean when the pods are colored green

green·belt ['grēn-,belt] -n

  1. a belt of parkways, parks, or farmlands that encircles a community

Green Beret -n

  1. a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces

green·bri·er [-,brī(-ə)r] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Smilax) of woody or herbaceous vines of the lily family
  2. a prickly vine ( S. rotundifolia) of the eastern U.S. with umbels of small greenish flowers

green·bug [-,bəg] -n

  1. a green aphid ( Schizaphis graminum) that is a pest esp. of cereal and forage grasses

green card -n

  1. an identity card attesting the permanent resident status of an alien in the U.S.

greencollar ['grēn-'kä-lər] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or involving actions for protecting the natural environment
    • greencollar jobs

green corn -n

  1. the young tender ears of Indian corn

green dragon -n

  1. a No. American herb ( Arisaema dracontium) of the arum family with digitate leaves, slender green spathe, and elongated spadix

greener pastures -n pl

  1. a better or more promising situation

green·ery ['grēn-rē, 'grē-nə-rē] -n

  1. green foliage or plants
  2. green

greeneyed ['grē-,nīd] -adj

  1. jealous

greeneyed monster -n

  1. jealousy

green·field ['grēn-,fēld] -n

  1. land (as a potential industrial site) not previously developed or polluted

green·finch ['grēn-,finch] -n

  1. a very common European finch ( Carduelis chloris) having olive-green and yellow plumage

green fingers -n pl

  1. green thumb

green flash -n

  1. a momentary green appearance of the uppermost part of the sun's disk at sunrise or sunset that results from atmospheric refraction

green·fly ['grēn-,flī] -n

  1. aphid
  2. green peach aphid

green·gage [-,gāj] -n

  1. any of several rather small rounded greenish or greenish-yellow cultivated plums

green gland -n

  1. one of a pair of large green glands in some crustaceans (as crayfishes) that have an excretory function and open at the bases of the larger antennae

green·gro·cer ['grēn-,grō-sər, -shər] -n

  1. a retailer of fresh vegetables and fruit

green·head ['grēn-,hed] -n

  1. any of several green-eyed horseflies (as Tabanus nigrovittatus)

green·heart [-,härt] -n

  1. a tropical So. American evergreen tree ( Ocotea rodiaeisyn. Nectandra rodiaei) of the laurel family with a hard greenish wood
  2. its wood

green heron -n

  1. a small yellow-legged American heron ( Butorides virescenssyn. B. striatus) with a greenish back and chestnut neck and chest called also green-backed heron

green·horn [-,hȯrn] -n

  1. an inexperienced or naive person
  2. a newcomer (as to a country) unacquainted with local manners and customs

green·house [-,hau̇s] -n

  1. a structure enclosed (as by glass) and used for the cultivation or protection of tender plants
  2. a clear plastic shell (as a canopy) covering a section of an airplane
  3. a compartment (as for a bombardier) enclosed by such a shell

greenhouse -adj

  1. of, relating to, contributing to, or caused by the greenhouse effect
    • greenhouse warming
    • greenhouse gases

greenhouse effect -n

  1. warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of a planet (as Earth or Venus) that is caused by conversion of solar radiation into heat in a process involving selective transmission of short wave solar radiation by the atmosphere, its absorption by the planet's surface, and reradiation as infrared which is absorbed and partly reradiated back to the surface by atmospheric gases

green·ing ['grē-niŋ] -n

  1. any of several green-skinned apples

green·keep·er ['grēn-,kē-pər] -n

  1. a person responsible for the care and upkeep of a golf course

green·let ['grēn-lət] -n

  1. vireo

green light ['grēn-,līt] -n, vt

  1. authority or permission to proceed

green·ling ['grēn-liŋ] -n

  1. any of several bony fishes (family Hexagrammidae) of the rocky coasts of the northern Pacific
  2. a common food and sport fish ( Hexagrammos decagrammus)

green·mail ['grēn-,māl] -n, vt

  1. the practice of buying enough of a company's stock to threaten a hostile takeover and reselling it to the company at a price above market value
  2. the money paid for such stock

green manure -n, vt

  1. an herbaceous crop (as clover) plowed under while green to enrich the soil

green mold -n

  1. a green or green-spored mold (as of the genera Penicilliumor Aspergillus)

green monkey -n

  1. a long-tailed monkey of any of several African subspecies of a guenon ( Cercopithecus aethiopssyn. Chloroebus aethiops) having greenish-appearing hair and often used in medical research called also vervet

gree·nock·ite ['grē-nə-,kīt] -n

  1. a mineral consisting of native cadmium sulfide occurring esp. in yellow translucent hexagonal crystals

green onion -n

  1. a young onion pulled before the bulb has enlarged and used esp. in salads

green paper -n

  1. a government document that proposes and invites discussion on approaches to a problem

green peach aphid -n

  1. a nearly cosmopolitan yellowish-green aphid ( Myzus persicae) that is frequently a vector of plant virus diseases

green pepper -n

  1. a sweet pepper before it turns red at maturity

green revolution -n

  1. the great increase in production of food grains (as rice and wheat) due to the introduction of high-yielding varieties, to the use of pesticides, and to better management techniques

green·room ['grēn-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a room (as in a theater or studio) where performers can relax before or after appearances

green·sand [-,sand] -n

  1. a sedimentary deposit that consists largely of dark greenish grains of glauconite often mingled with clay or sand

greens fee ['grēnz-] -n

  1. a fee paid for the privilege of playing on a golf course called also green fee

green·shank ['grēn-,shaŋk] -n

  1. an Old World sandpiper ( Tringa nebularia) with greenish legs and a slightly upturned bill

green·sick·ness [-,sik-nəs] -n, adj

  1. chlorosis

green snake -n

  1. either of two bright green harmless largely insectivorous No. American colubrid snakes ( Opheodrys vernalisand O. aestivus)

green soap -n

  1. a soft soap made from vegetable oils and used esp. in the treatment of skin diseases

green·stick fracture ['grēn-,stik-] -n

  1. a bone fracture in a young individual in which the bone is partly broken and partly bent

green·stone ['grēn-,stōn] -n

  1. nephrite
  2. any of numerous usu. altered dark green compact rocks (as diorite)

green·stuff [-,stəf] -n

  1. green vegetation used as foodstuff

green sunfish -n

  1. a sunfish ( Lepomis cyanellus) of the Great Lakes region and southwestward to the Rio Grande that is largely greenish above with a blue spot on many of the scales

green·sward [-,swȯrd] -n

  1. turf that is green with growing grass

green tea -n

  1. tea that is light in color from incomplete fermentation of the leaf before firing

green thumb ['grēn-'thəmd] -n, adj

  1. an unusual ability to make plants grow

green turtle -n

  1. a large usu. herbivorous sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas) of warm waters with a smooth greenish or olive-colored shell

green vegetable -n

  1. a vegetable whose foliage or foliage-bearing stalks are the chief edible part

green·wash·ing ['grēn-,wȯ-shiŋ, -,wä-] -n

  1. expressions of environmentalist concerns esp. as a cover for products, policies, or activities

green·way ['grēn-,wā] -n

  1. a corridor of undeveloped land preserved for recreational use or environmental protection

Green·wich mean time ['gri-nij-, 'gre-, -nich-] -n

  1. the mean solar time of the meridian of Greenwich used historically as the prime basis of standard time throughout the world called also Greenwich time

green·wing ['grēn-,wiŋ] -n

  1. green-winged teal

greenwinged teal ['grēn-,wiŋ(d)-] -n

  1. a small Holarctic dabbling duck ( Anas crecca) the male of which has a chestnut head with a green eye patch and a metallic green area on the wing speculum

green·wood ['grēn-,wu̇d] -n

  1. a forest that is green with foliage

greet ['grēt] -vt, n

  1. to address with expression of kind wishes upon meeting or arrival
    • greet ed guests at the door
  2. to meet or react to in a specified manner
    • greet ed him with boos
  3. to occur as a response to
    • apathy greet ed the plan
  4. to appear to the perception of
    • a surprising sight greet ed her eyes
  5. weep, lament

greet·ing -n

  1. a salutation at meeting
  2. an expression of good wishes : regards usu. used in plural
    • holiday greeting s

greeting card -n

  1. a piece of paper or thin cardboard having any of a variety of shapes and formats and bearing a greeting or message of sentiment

greg·a·rine ['gre-gə-,rīn] -n, adj

  1. any of a subclass (Gregarinia) of parasitic vermiform sporozoan protozoans that occur esp. in insects and other invertebrates

gre·gar·i·ous [gri-'ger-ē-əs] -adj, adv, n

  1. tending to associate with others of one's kind : social
  2. marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable
  3. of or relating to a social group
  4. growing in a cluster or a colony
  5. living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony used esp. of wasps and bees

Gre·go·ri·an [gri-'gȯr-ē-ən] -adj

  1. of or relating to Pope Gregory XIII or the Gregorian calendar

Gregorian -adj

  1. of or relating to Pope Gregory I
  2. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of Gregorian chant
  3. of or relating to the Armenian national church

Gregorian calendar -n

  1. a calendar in general use introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a revision of the Julian calendar, adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752, marked by the suppression of 10 days or after 1700 11 days, and having leap years in every year divisible by four with the restriction that centesimal years are leap years only when divisible by 400

Gregorian chant -n

  1. a monodic and rhythmically free liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church

greige ['grā(zh)] -adj

  1. being in an unbleached undyed state as taken from a loom used of textiles

grei·sen ['grī-zᵊn] -n

  1. a crystalline rock consisting of quartz and mica that is common in Cornwall and Saxony

grem·lin ['grem-lən] -n

  1. a cause of error or equipment malfunction (as in aircraft) conceived of as a small mischievous gnome

gre·nade [grə-'nād] -n

  1. a small missile that contains an explosive or a chemical agent (as tear gas, a flame producer, or a smoke producer) and that is thrown by hand or projected (as by a rifle or special launcher)

gren·a·dier [,gre-nə-'dir] -n

  1. a soldier who carries and throws grenades
  2. a member of a special regiment or corps formerly armed with grenades
  3. any of various deep-sea fishes (family Macrouridae) that are related to the cods and have an elongate tapering body and compressed pointed tail

gren·a·dine [,gre-nə-'dēn, 'gre-nə-,] -n

  1. an open-weave fabric of various fibers
  2. a moderate reddish orange
  3. a syrup flavored with pomegranates and used in mixed drinks

Gren·del ['gren-dᵊl] -n

  1. a monstrous man-eating descendant of Cain slain by Beowulf in the Old English poem Beowulf

Gresh·am's law ['gre-shəmz-] -n

  1. an observation in economics: when two coins are equal in debt-paying value but unequal in intrinsic value, the one having the lesser intrinsic value tends to remain in circulation and the other to be hoarded or exported as bullion
  2. any process by which inferior products or practices drive out superior ones

Gret·na Green [,gret-nə-'grēn] -n

  1. a place where many eloping couples are married

Gre·vy's zebra [(,)grā-'vēz-] -n

  1. a zebra ( Equus grevyi) of eastern Africa with narrow stripes and a white belly

grew ['grō] -vb, n, adv

(variant of grow)

  1. to spring up and develop to maturity
  2. to be able to grow in some place or situation
    • trees that grow in the tropics
  3. to assume some relation through or as if through a process of natural growth
    • ferns grow ing from the rocks
  4. to increase in size by assimilation of material into the living organism or by accretion of material in a nonbiological process (as crystallization)
  5. increase, expand
    • grow s in wisdom
  6. to develop from a parent source
    • the book grew out of a series of lectures
  7. to pass into a condition : become
    • grew pale
  8. to have an increasing influence
    • habit grow s on a person
  9. to become increasingly acceptable or attractive
    • didn't like it at first, but it grew on him
  10. to cause to grow
    • grow wheat
  11. to let grow on the body
    • grew a beard
  12. to promote the development of
    • start a business and grow it successfully -- J. L. Deckter

grewsome ['grü-səm] -adj, adv, n

(variant of gruesome)

  1. inspiring horror or repulsion : grisly

grey ['grā] -adj, adv, n

(variant of gray)

  1. of the color gray
  2. tending toward gray
    • blue- gray eyes
  3. dull in color
  4. having the hair gray : hoary
  5. clothed in gray
  6. lacking cheer or brightness in mood, outlook, style, or flavor
  7. dismal, gloomy
    • a gray day
  8. prosaically ordinary : dull, uninteresting
  9. having an intermediate and often vaguely defined position, condition, or character
    • an ethically gray area
  10. something (as an animal, garment, cloth, or spot) of a gray color
  11. any of a series of neutral colors ranging between black and white
  12. a soldier in the Confederate army during the American Civil War
  13. the Confederate army
  14. to make gray
  15. to become gray
  16. age
  17. to contain an increasing percentage of older people
  18. the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material abbr. Gy

grey friar -n

  1. a Franciscan friar

grey·hound ['grā-,hau̇nd] -n

  1. any of a breed of tall slender graceful smooth-coated dogs characterized by swiftness and keen sight and used for coursing game and racing
  2. any of several related dogs

grey·lag [-,lag] -n

  1. the common gray wild goose ( Anser anser) of Europe from which most domestic breeds of geese are descended

grib·ble ['gri-bəl] -n

  1. either of two small wood-boring marine isopods ( Limnoria lignorumand L. tripunctata)

grid ['grid] -n

  1. grating
  2. a perforated or ridged metal plate used as a conductor in a storage battery
  3. an electrode consisting of a mesh or a spiral of fine wire in an electron tube
  4. a network of conductors for distribution of electric power
  5. a network of radio or television stations
  6. a network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines (as for locating points on a map)
  7. something resembling such a network
    • a road grid
  8. gridiron
  9. football
  10. the starting positions of cars on a racecourse
  11. a device in a photocomposer on which are located the characters to be exposed as the text is composed

grid·der ['gri-dər] -n

  1. a football player

grid·dle ['gri-dᵊl] -n

  1. a flat stone or metal surface on which food is baked or fried

griddle cake -n

  1. pancake

grid·iron ['grid-,ī(-ə)rn] -n

  1. a grate for broiling food
  2. something consisting of or covered with a network
  3. a football field

grid·lock [-,läk] -n, vt

  1. a traffic jam in which a grid of intersecting streets is so completely congested that no vehicular movement is possible
  2. a situation resembling gridlock (as in congestion or lack of movement)
    • political gridlock

grief ['grēf] -n

  1. grievance
  2. deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement
  3. a cause of such suffering
  4. an unfortunate outcome : disaster used chiefly in the phrase come to grief
  5. mishap, misadventure
  6. trouble, annoyance
    • enough grief for one day
  7. annoying or playful criticism
    • getting grief from his friends

griev·ance ['grē-vən(t)s] -n

  1. suffering, distress
  2. a cause of distress (as an unsatisfactory working condition) felt to afford reason for complaint or resistance
  3. the formal expression of a grievance : complaint

griev·ant [-vənt] -n

  1. one who submits a grievance for arbitration

grieve ['grēv] -vb, n

  1. to cause to suffer : distress
    • it grieve s me to see him this way
  2. to feel or show grief over
    • grieving the death of her son
  3. to submit a formal grievance concerning
    • grieve a dismissal
  4. to feel grief : sorrow

griev·ous ['grē-vəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow
    • a grievous wound
    • a grievous loss
  2. oppressive, onerous
    • grievous costs of war
  3. serious, grave
    • grievous fault

grif·fin ['gri-fən] -n

  1. a mythical animal typically having the head, forepart, and wings of an eagle and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion

grif·fon ['gri-fən] -n

  1. brussels griffon
  2. wirehaired pointing griffon

grift ['grift] -vb, n

  1. to obtain (money) illicitly (as in a confidence game)
  2. to acquire money or property illicitly

grig ['grig] -n

  1. a lively lighthearted usu. small or young person

grill ['gril] -vt, n

  1. to broil on a grill
  2. to fry or toast on a griddle
  3. to torment as if by broiling
  4. to question intensely
    • the police grill ed the suspect
  5. a cooking utensil of parallel bars on which food is exposed to heat (as from charcoal or electricity)
  6. food that is broiled usu. on a grill
  7. a usu. informal restaurant or dining room

gril·lage ['gri-lij] -n

  1. a framework of timber or steel for support in marshy or treacherous soil
  2. a framework for supporting a load (as a column)

grille ['gril] -n

  1. a grating forming a barrier or screen
  2. an ornamental one at the front end of an automobile
  3. an opening covered with a grille
  4. a set of metallic covers for the teeth

grill·room ['gril-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. grill

grill·work ['gril-,wərk] -n

  1. work constituting or resembling a grille

grilse ['grils] -n

  1. a young Atlantic salmon returning to its native river to spawn for the first time after one winter at sea
  2. any of various salmon at such a stage of development

grim ['grim] -adj, adv, n

  1. fierce in disposition or action : savage
  2. stern or forbidding in action or appearance
    • a grim taskmaster
  3. somber, gloomy
  4. ghastly, repellent, or sinister in character
    • a grim tale
  5. unflinching, unyielding
    • grim determination

gri·mace ['gri-məs, gri-'mās] -n, vi

  1. a facial expression usu. of disgust, disapproval, or pain

gri·mal·kin [gri-'mȯ(l)-kən, -'mal-] -n

  1. a domestic cat
  2. an old female cat

grime ['grīm] -n, vt

  1. soot, smut, or dirt adhering to or embedded in a surface
  2. accumulated dirtiness and disorder

Grimm's law ['grimz-] -n

  1. a statement in historical linguistics: Proto-Indo-European voiceless stops became Proto-Germanic voiceless fricatives (as in Greek pyr, treis, kardiacompared with English fire, three, heart), Proto-Indo-European voiced stops became Proto-Germanic voiceless stops (as in Latin duo, genuscompared with English two, kin), and Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirated stops became Proto-Germanic voiced fricatives (as in Sanskrit nabhi, madhyamid compared with English navel,Old Norse mithrmid)

grim reaper -n

  1. death esp. when personified as a man or skeleton with a scythe

grimy ['grī-mē] -adj, n

  1. full of or covered with grime : dirty

grin ['grin] -vi, n, adv

  1. to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth esp. in amusement or laughter
  2. smile

grinch ['grinch] -n

  1. killjoy, spoilsport

grind ['grīnd] -vb, adv

  1. to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as in a mill or with the teeth)
  2. to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction
    • grind an ax
  3. oppress, harass
  4. to weaken or destroy gradually usu. used with down
    • poverty ground her spirit down
  5. to press together with a rotating motion
    • grind the teeth
  6. to rub or press harshly
    • ground the cigarette out
  7. to operate or produce by turning a crank
    • grind a hand organ
  8. to perform the operation of grinding
  9. to become pulverized, polished, or sharpened by friction
  10. to move with difficulty or friction esp. so as to make a grating noise
    • gears grind ing
  11. drudge
  12. to study hard
    • grind for an exam
  13. to rotate the hips in an erotic manner
  14. an act of grinding
  15. the sound of grinding
  16. dreary, monotonous, or difficult labor, study, or routine
  17. one who works or studies excessively
  18. the result of grinding
  19. material ground to a particular degree of fineness
    • a drip grind of coffee
  20. the act of rotating the hips in an erotic manner

grind·er ['grīn-dər] -n

  1. molar
  2. teeth
  3. one that grinds
  4. a machine or device for grinding
  5. submarine
  6. an athlete who succeeds through hard work and determination rather than exceptional skill

grind house -n

  1. an often shabby movie theater having continuous showings esp. of pornographic or violent films

grind out -vt

  1. to produce in a mechanical way

grind·stone ['grīn-,stōn] -n

  1. millstone
  2. a flat circular stone of natural sandstone that revolves on an axle and is used for grinding, shaping, or smoothing

grin·go ['griŋ-(,)gō] -n

  1. a foreigner in Spain or Latin America esp. when of English or American origin
  2. a non-Hispanic person

gri·ot ['grē-,ō] -n

  1. any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies
  2. storyteller

grip ['grip] -vt, n, adv

  1. to seize or hold firmly
  2. to hold the interest of strongly
    • a story that grip s the reader
  3. a strong or tenacious grasp
  4. strength in gripping
  5. manner or style of gripping
  6. a firm tenacious hold typically giving control, mastery, or understanding
  7. mental grasp
  8. a part or device for gripping
  9. a part by which something is grasped
  10. handle
  11. suitcase
  12. stagehand

gripe ['grīp] -vb, n

  1. seize, grasp
  2. afflict, distress
  3. irritate, vex
  4. to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of
  5. to experience gripes
  6. to complain with grumbling
  7. clutch, grasp
  8. control, mastery
  9. a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain usu. used in pl.
  10. grievance, complaint

grip·man ['grip-mən, -,man] -n

  1. a cable car operator

grippe ['grip] -n

  1. an acute febrile contagious virus disease
  2. influenza

grip·sack ['grip-,sak] -n

  1. suitcase

gri·saille [gri-'zī, -'zāl] -n

  1. decoration in tones of a single color and esp. gray designed to produce a three-dimensional effect

Gri·sel·da [gri-'zel-də] -n

  1. a woman of humble origins in medieval legend who endures tests of wifely patience laid on her by her wellborn husband

gris·eo·ful·vin [,gri-zē-ō-'fu̇l-vən, ,gri-sē-, -'fəl-] -n

  1. an antibiotic C 17H 17ClO 6used systematically in treating superficial fungal infections

gri·sette [gri-'zet] -n

  1. a young French working-class woman
  2. a young woman combining part-time prostitution with some other occupation

grisgris ['grē-(,)grē] -n

  1. an amulet or incantation used chiefly by people of black African ancestry

gris·ly ['griz-lē] -adj, n

  1. inspiring horror or intense fear
    • houses that were dark and grisly under the blank, cold sky -- D. H. Lawrence
  2. inspiring disgust or distaste
    • a grisly account of the fire

grist ['grist] -n

  1. grain or a batch of grain for grinding
  2. the product obtained from a grist of grain including the flour or meal and the grain offals
  3. a required or usual amount
  4. matter of interest or value forming the basis of a story or analysis
  5. something turned to advantage or use used esp. in the phrase grist for one's mill

gris·tle ['gri-səl, -zəl] -n

  1. cartilage
  2. tough cartilaginous, tendinous, or fibrous matter esp. in table meats

gris·tly ['gri-sə-lē, 'gris-lē, 'griz-] -adj, n

  1. consisting of or containing gristle
    • gristly steak

grist·mill ['grist-,mil] -n

  1. a mill for grinding grain

grit ['grit] -n

  1. sand, gravel
  2. a hard sharp granule (as of sand)
  3. material (as many abrasives) composed of such granules
  4. any of several sandstones
  5. the structure of a stone that adapts it to grinding
  6. the size of abrasive particles usu. expressed as their mesh
  7. firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger
  8. a Liberal in Canadian politics
  9. to give forth a grating sound
  10. to cause (as one's teeth) to grind or grate
  11. to cover or spread with grit
  12. to smooth (as marble) with a coarse abrasive

grith ['grith] -n

  1. peace, security, or sanctuary imposed or guaranteed in early medieval England under various special conditions

grits ['grits] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. coarsely ground hulled grain
  2. ground hominy with the germ removed

grit·ty ['gri-tē] -adj, adv, n

  1. containing or resembling grit
  2. courageously persistent : plucky
    • a gritty heroine
  3. having strong qualities of tough uncompromising realism
    • a gritty novel

griz·zle ['gri-zəl] -n

  1. gray hair
  2. a roan coat pattern or color
  3. a gray or roan animal

grizzle ['griz-liŋ, 'gri-zə-] -vb

  1. to make grayish
  2. gripe, grumble
  3. to become grayish

griz·zled ['gri-zəld] -adj

  1. sprinkled or streaked with gray : graying
    • a grizzled beard
  2. having gray hair
    • a grizzled veteran

griz·zly ['griz-lē] -adj

  1. grizzled

grizzly bear -n

  1. a very large brown bear ( Ursus arctos) found from the northwestern U.S. to Alaska called also grizzly

gro -abbr

  1. gross

groan ['grōn] -vb, n

  1. to utter a deep moan indicative of pain, grief, or annoyance
  2. to make a harsh sound (as of creaking) under sudden or prolonged strain
  3. to utter or express with groaning

groan·er ['grō-nər] -n

  1. one that groans
  2. a stale or corny joke, observation, or story

groat ['grōt] -n

  1. hulled grain broken into fragments larger than grits
  2. a grain (as of oats) exclusive of the hull
  3. an old British coin worth four pennies

gro·cer ['grō-sər, -shər] -n

  1. a dealer in staple foodstuffs, meats, produce, and dairy products and usu. household supplies

gro·cery ['grōs-rē, 'grō-sə-; 'grōsh-rē] -n

  1. commodities sold by a grocer usu. sing. in Brit. usage
  2. a grocer's store

grog ['gräg] -n

  1. alcoholic liquor
  2. liquor (as rum) cut with water and now often served hot with lemon juice and sugar sometimes added
  3. refractory materials (as crushed pottery and firebricks) used in the manufacture of refractory products (as crucibles) to reduce shrinkage in drying and firing

grog·gy ['grä-gē] -adj, adv, n

  1. weak and unsteady on the feet or in action

gro·gram ['grä-grəm, 'grō-] -n

  1. a coarse loosely woven fabric of silk, silk and mohair, or silk and wool

grog·shop ['gräg-,shäp] -n

  1. a usu. low-class barroom

groin ['grȯin] -n

  1. the fold or depression marking the juncture of the lower abdomen and the inner part of the thigh
  2. the region of this line
  3. the projecting curved line along which two intersecting vaults meet
  4. a rib that covers this edge
  5. a rigid structure built out from a shore to protect the shore from erosion, to trap sand, or to direct a current for scouring a channel
  6. to build or equip with groins

grok ['gräk] -vt

  1. to understand profoundly and intuitively

grom·met ['grä-mət, 'grə-] -n

  1. a flexible loop that serves as a fastening, support, or reinforcement
  2. an eyelet of firm material to strengthen or protect an opening or to insulate or protect something passed through it

grom·well ['gräm-,wel, -wəl] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Lithospermum) of plants of the borage family having smooth glossy hard white nutlets

groom ['grüm, 'gru̇m] -n

  1. man, fellow
  2. manservant
  3. one of several officers of the English royal household
  4. a person responsible for the feeding, exercising, and stabling of horses
  5. bridegroom
  6. to clean and maintain the appearance of (as the coat of a horse or dog)
  7. to make neat or attractive
    • an impeccably groom ed woman
  8. to get into readiness for a specific objective : prepare
    • was being groom ed as a presidential candidate
  9. to groom oneself

groom·er ['grü-mər] -n

  1. one who grooms (as dogs)

grooms·man ['grümz-mən, 'gru̇mz-] -n

  1. a male friend who attends a bridegroom at his wedding

groove ['grüv] -n

  1. a long narrow channel or depression
  2. a fixed routine : rut
  3. a situation suited to one's abilities or interests : niche
  4. top form
    • a great talker when he is in the groove
  5. the middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit
    • a fastball right in the groove
  6. an enjoyable or exciting experience
  7. a pronounced enjoyable rhythm
  8. to make a groove in
  9. to join by a groove
  10. to perfect by repeated practice
    • grooved her golf swing
  11. to throw (a pitch) in the groove
  12. to become joined or fitted by a groove
  13. to form a groove
  14. to enjoy oneself intensely
  15. to interact harmoniously
    • contemporary minds and rock groove together -- Benjamin DeMott

groovy ['grü-vē] -adj

  1. marvelous, wonderful, excellent
    • felt that this poetry was...enjoyable, not to mention groovy -- R. M. Muccigrosso
  2. hip, trendy
    • a younger and groovier audience -- Robert MacKenzie

grope ['grōp] -vb, n

  1. to feel about blindly or uncertainly in search
    • grope for the light switch
  2. to look for something blindly or uncertainly
    • grope for the right words
  3. to feel one's way
  4. feel up
  5. to find (as one's way) by groping

gros·beak ['grōs-,bēk] -n

  1. any of several finches (esp. families Cardinalidae and Fringillidae) of Europe and America having large stout conical bills

gro·schen ['grō-shən, 'grȯ-] -n

  1. a former Austrian monetary unit equal to schilling

gros·grain ['grō-,grān] -n

  1. a strong close-woven corded fabric usu. of silk or rayon and often with cotton filler

gross ['grōs] -adj, adv, n

  1. immediately obvious
  2. glaringly noticeable usu. because of inexcusable badness or objectionableness
    • a gross error
  3. out-and-out, utter
    • a gross injustice
  4. visible without the aid of a microscope
  5. big, bulky
  6. excessively fat
  7. growing or spreading with excessive luxuriance
  8. of, relating to, or dealing with general aspects or broad distinctions
  9. consisting of an overall total exclusive of deductions
    • gross income
  10. made up of material or perceptible elements
  11. not fastidious in taste : undiscriminating
  12. coarse in nature or behavior : unrefined
  13. gravely deficient in civility or decency : crudely vulgar
    • merely gross, a scatological rather than a pornographic impropriety -- Aldous Huxley
  14. inspiring disgust or distaste
    • that sandwich looks gross
  15. deficient in knowledge : ignorant, untutored
  16. amount, sum
  17. overall total exclusive of deductions
  18. to earn or bring in (an overall total) exclusive of deductions (as for taxes or expenses)
  19. an aggregate of 12 dozen things
    • a gross of pencils

gross anatomy -n

  1. a branch of anatomy that deals with the macroscopic structure of tissues and organs

gross domestic product -n

  1. the gross national product excluding the value of net income earned abroad

gross national product -n

  1. the total value of the goods and services produced by the residents of a nation during a specified period (as a year)

grossout ['grōs-,au̇t] -n

  1. something inspiring disgust or distaste

gross out -vt

  1. to offend, insult, or disgust by something gross

gross ton -n

  1. long ton

gros·su·lar ['gräs-yə-lər] -n

  1. a variety of garnet that is most commonly green and consists of calcium aluminum silicate

gros·su·la·rite [-lə-,rīt] -n

  1. grossular

gro·szy ['grȯ-shē] -n

  1. see zloty at

grot ['grät] -n

  1. grotto

gro·tesque [grō-'tesk] -n

  1. a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature
  2. a piece of work in this style
  3. one that is grotesque
  4. sans serif

grotesque -adj, adv, n

  1. : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the grotesque: as
  2. fanciful, bizarre
  3. absurdly incongruous
  4. departing markedly from the natural, the expected, or the typical

gro·tes·que·rie [grō-'tes-kə-rē] -n

  1. something that is grotesque
  2. the quality or state of being grotesque : grotesqueness

grot·to ['grä-(,)tō] -n

  1. cave
  2. an artificial recess or structure made to resemble a natural cave

grot·ty ['grä-tē] -adj

  1. wretchedly shabby : of poor quality
  2. filthy, gross

grouch ['grau̇ch] -n, vi

  1. a fit of bad temper
  2. grudge, complaint
  3. a habitually irritable or complaining person : grumbler

grouchy ['grau̇-chē] -adj, adv, n

  1. given to grumbling : peevish

ground ['grau̇nd] -n

  1. the bottom of a body of water
  2. sediment
  3. ground coffee beans after brewing
  4. a basis for belief, action, or argument
    • ground for complaint
    often used in pl.
    • sufficient ground s for divorce
  5. a fundamental logical condition
  6. a basic metaphysical cause
  7. a surrounding area : background
  8. material that serves as a substratum
  9. the surface of the earth
  10. an area used for a particular purpose
    • the parade ground
    • fishing ground s
  11. the area around and belonging to a house or other building
  12. an area to be won or defended in or as if in battle
  13. an area of knowledge or special interest
    • covered a lot of ground in his lecture
  14. soil, earth
  15. a special soil
  16. an object that makes an electrical connection with the earth
  17. a large conducting body (as the earth) used as a common return for an electric circuit and as an arbitrary zero of potential
  18. electric connection with a ground
  19. a football offense utilizing primarily running plays
  20. to bring to or place on the ground
  21. to cause to run aground
  22. to provide a reason or justification for
    • our fears about technological change may be well ground ed -- L. K. Williams
  23. to furnish with a foundation of knowledge : base
    • an understanding...that is ground ed in fact -- Michael Kimmelman
  24. to connect electrically with a ground
  25. to restrict to the ground
    • ground a pilot
  26. to prohibit from taking part in some usual activities
    • ground ed her for a week
  27. to throw (a football) intentionally to the ground to avoid being tackled for a loss
  28. to have a ground or basis : rely
  29. to run aground
  30. to hit a grounder
    • ground ed back to the pitcher

ground ['grīnd] -vb, adv

(variant of grind)

  1. to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as in a mill or with the teeth)
  2. to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction
    • grind an ax
  3. oppress, harass
  4. to weaken or destroy gradually usu. used with down
    • poverty ground her spirit down
  5. to press together with a rotating motion
    • grind the teeth
  6. to rub or press harshly
    • ground the cigarette out
  7. to operate or produce by turning a crank
    • grind a hand organ
  8. to perform the operation of grinding
  9. to become pulverized, polished, or sharpened by friction
  10. to move with difficulty or friction esp. so as to make a grating noise
    • gears grind ing
  11. drudge
  12. to study hard
    • grind for an exam
  13. to rotate the hips in an erotic manner
  14. an act of grinding
  15. the sound of grinding
  16. dreary, monotonous, or difficult labor, study, or routine
  17. one who works or studies excessively
  18. the result of grinding
  19. material ground to a particular degree of fineness
    • a drip grind of coffee
  20. the act of rotating the hips in an erotic manner

ground ball -n

  1. a batted baseball that bounds or rolls along the ground

ground bass -n

  1. a short bass passage continually repeated below constantly changing melody and harmony

ground beetle -n

  1. any of a large cosmopolitan family (Carabidae) of soil-inhabiting usu. carnivorous often shiny black or metallic beetles commonly having fused elytra

ground·break·er ['grau̇n(d)-,brā-kər] -n

  1. one that innovates : pioneer

ground·break·ing [-,brā-kiŋ] -adj

  1. markedly innovative
    • has written a groundbreaking work

ground·burst [-,bərst] -n

  1. the detonation of a nuclear warhead at ground level

groundcher·ry ['grau̇n(d)-'cher-ē] -n

  1. any of various chiefly New World herbs (genus Physalis) of the nightshade family with pulpy fruits in papery husks
  2. the fruit of the ground-cherry

ground cloth -n

  1. a waterproof sheet placed on the ground for protection (as of a sleeping bag) against soil moisture

ground cover -n

  1. the small plants on a forest floor except young trees
  2. a planting of low plants (as ivy) that covers the ground in place of turf
  3. a plant adapted for use as ground cover

ground crew -n

  1. the mechanics and technicians who maintain and service an airplane

ground·ed ['grȧun-dəd] -adj

  1. mentally and emotionally stable : admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious
    • remains grounded despite all the praise and attention

groundeffect machine -n

  1. hovercraft

ground·er ['grau̇n-dər] -n

  1. ground ball

ground·fish ['grau̇n(d)-,fish] -n

  1. a bottom fish
  2. a marine fish (as a cod, haddock, pollack, or flounder) of commercial importance

ground floor -n

  1. the floor of a building most nearly on a level with the ground
  2. a favorable position or privileged opportunity usu. obtained by early participants used esp. in the phrase in on the ground floor

ground glass -n

  1. glass with a light-diffusing surface produced by etching or abrading

ground·hog ['grau̇n(d)-,hȯg, -,häg] -n

  1. woodchuck

Groundhog Day -n

  1. February 2 observed traditionally as a day that indicates six more weeks of winter if sunny or an early spring if cloudy

ground·ing ['grau̇n-diŋ] -n

  1. training or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge

ground ivy -n

  1. a trailing European mint ( Glechoma hederacea) naturalized in No. America with rounded leaves and purplish flowers

ground·less ['grau̇n(d)-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. having no ground or foundation
    • groundless fears

ground·ling ['grau̇n(d)-liŋ] -n

  1. a spectator who stood in the pit of an Elizabethan theater
  2. a person of unsophisticated taste
  3. one that lives or works on or near the ground

ground loop -n

  1. a sharp uncontrollable turn made by an aircraft on the ground and usu. caused by an unbalanced drag (as from a wingtip touching the ground)

ground·mass ['grau̇n(d)-,mas] -n

  1. the fine-grained or glassy base of a porphyry in which the larger distinct crystals are embedded

ground meristem -n

  1. the part of a primary apical meristem remaining after differentiation of protoderm and procambium

ground·nut ['grau̇n(d)-,nət] -n

  1. any of several plants having edible tuberous roots
  2. a No. American leguminous vine ( Apios americana) with pinnate leaves and clusters of brownish-purple fragrant flowers
  3. the root of a groundnut
  4. peanut

ground·out ['grau̇nd-,au̇t] -n

  1. a play in baseball in which a batter is put out after hitting a grounder to an infielder

ground pine -n

  1. a yellow-flowered European bugle ( Ajuga chamaepitys) with a resinous odor
  2. any of several club mosses (esp. Lycopodium clavatumand L. complanatum) with long creeping stems and erect branches

ground plan -n

  1. a plan of a floor of a building as distinguished from an elevation
  2. a first or basic plan

ground rent -n

  1. the rent paid by a lessee for the use of land esp. for building

ground rule -n

  1. a sports rule adopted to modify play on a particular field, court, or course
  2. a rule of procedure
    • ground rules for selecting a superintendent -- Amer. School Board Jour.

ground·sel ['grau̇n(d)-səl] -n

  1. any of various senecios (as the nearly cosmopolitan European weed Senecio vulgaris)

ground·sheet ['grau̇n(d)-,shēt] -n

  1. ground cloth

grounds·keep·er ['grau̇n(d)z-,kē-pər] -n

  1. a person who cares for the grounds of a usu. large property (as a sports field)

ground sloth -n

  1. any of various often huge extinct American edentates related to the recent sloths

grounds·man ['grau̇n(d)z-mən] -n

  1. groundskeeper

ground speed -n

  1. the speed (as of an airplane) with relation to the ground

ground squirrel -n

  1. any of various burrowing No. American and Eurasian rodents (esp. genus Spermophilus) of the squirrel family that often live in colonies esp. in open areas (as grasslands) called also spermophile

ground state -n

  1. the state of a physical system (as of an atomic nucleus or an atom) having the least energy of all the possible states called also ground level

ground stroke -n

  1. a stroke made (as in tennis) by hitting a ball that has rebounded from the ground

ground substance -n

  1. : a more or less homogeneous matrix in which the specific differentiated elements of a system are suspended:
  2. the intercellular substance of tissues
  3. cytosol

ground·swell ['grau̇nd-,swel] -n

  1. a broad deep undulation of the ocean caused by an often distant gale or seismic disturbance
  2. a rapid spontaneous growth (as of political opinion)
    • a groundswell of support

ground·wa·ter [-,wȯ-tər, -,wä-] -n

  1. water within the earth esp. that supplies wells and springs

ground wave -n

  1. a radio wave that is propagated along the surface of the earth

ground·wood ['grau̇nd-,wu̇d] -n

  1. wood ground up and used to make pulp for paper

ground·work ['grau̇nd-,wərk] -n

  1. foundation, basis
    • laid the groundwork for a new program
  2. preparation made beforehand
    • the groundwork was done before the winter tour -- Susan Reiter

ground zero -n

  1. the point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs
  2. the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change
  3. center
    • the party town that served as ground zero for those corporate...bashes -- Rich Eisen
  4. the very beginning : square one

group ['grüp] -n

  1. two or more figures forming a complete unit in a composition
  2. a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship
  3. an assemblage of objects regarded as a unit
  4. a military unit consisting of a headquarters and attached battalions
  5. a unit of the U.S. Air Force higher than a squadron and lower than a wing
  6. an assemblage of related organisms often used to avoid taxonomic connotations when the kind or degree of relationship is not clearly defined
  7. two or more atoms joined together or sometimes a single atom forming part of a molecule
  8. functional group
    • a methyl group
  9. an assemblage of elements forming one of the vertical columns of the periodic table
  10. a stratigraphic division comprising rocks deposited during an era
  11. a mathematical set that is closed under a binary associative operation, contains an identity element, and has an inverse for every element
  12. to combine in a group
  13. to assign to a group : classify
  14. to form a group
  15. to belong to a group
  16. to make groups of closely spaced hits on a target
    • the gun group ed beautifully -- R. C. Ruark

Group A -n

  1. any of various strains of a streptococcus ( Streptococcus pyogenes) that include the causative agents of pharyngitis, scarlet fever, septicemia, some skin infections, rheumatic fever, and glomerulonephritis
    • Group A strep throat

Group B -n

  1. any of various strains of a streptococcus ( Streptococcus agalactiae) that include the causative agents of certain infections (as pneumonia and meningitis) esp. of newborn infants
    • Group B streptococcal infections

group captain -n

  1. a commissioned officer in the British air force who ranks with a colonel in the army

group dynamics -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. the interacting forces within a small human group
  2. the sociological study of these forces

grou·per ['grü-pər] -n

  1. any of numerous fishes (family Serranidae and esp. genera Epinephelusand Mycteroperca) that are typically large solitary bottom-dwelling fishes of warm seas and include important food fishes

group home -n

  1. a residence for persons requiring care or supervision

group·ie ['grü-pē] -n

  1. a fan of a rock group who usu. follows the group around on concert tours
  2. an admirer of a celebrity who attends as many of his or her public appearances as possible
  3. enthusiast, aficionado
    • a political groupie
    • golf groupie s

group·ing ['grü-piŋ] -n

  1. the act or process of combining in groups
  2. a set of objects combined in a group
    • a furniture grouping

group practice -n

  1. medicine practiced by a group of associated physicians or dentists (as specialists in different fields) working as partners or as partners and employees

group theory -n

  1. a branch of mathematics concerned with finding all mathematical groups and determining their properties

group therapy -n

  1. therapy in the presence of a therapist in which several patients discuss and share their personal problems called also group psychotherapy

group·think ['grüp-,thiŋk] -n

  1. a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics

grou·pus·cule [grü-'pəs-,kyül] -n

  1. a small group of political activists

group·ware ['grüp-,wer] -n

  1. software that enables users to work collaboratively on projects or files via a network

grouse ['grau̇s] -n

  1. any of various chiefly ground-dwelling birds (family Tetraonidae) that are usu. of reddish-brown or other protective color and have feathered legs and that include many important game birds
  2. complain, grumble
  3. complaint

grout ['grau̇t] -n

  1. thin mortar used for filling spaces (as the joints in masonry)
  2. any of various other materials (as a mixture of cement and water or chemicals that solidify) used for a similar purpose
  3. plaster
  4. lees
  5. to fill up or finish with grout
  6. to fix in place by means of grout
    • grout a bolt into a wall

grove ['grōv] -n

  1. a small wood without underbrush
    • a picnic grove
  2. a planting of fruit or nut trees

grov·el ['grä-vᵊl, 'grə-] -vi, n, adv

  1. to creep with the face to the ground : crawl
  2. to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement
  3. to abase oneself
  4. to give oneself over to what is base or unworthy : wallow
    • grovel ing in self-pity

groves of academe

  1. the academic world

grow ['grō] -vb, n, adv

  1. to spring up and develop to maturity
  2. to be able to grow in some place or situation
    • trees that grow in the tropics
  3. to assume some relation through or as if through a process of natural growth
    • ferns grow ing from the rocks
  4. to increase in size by assimilation of material into the living organism or by accretion of material in a nonbiological process (as crystallization)
  5. increase, expand
    • grow s in wisdom
  6. to develop from a parent source
    • the book grew out of a series of lectures
  7. to pass into a condition : become
    • grew pale
  8. to have an increasing influence
    • habit grow s on a person
  9. to become increasingly acceptable or attractive
    • didn't like it at first, but it grew on him
  10. to cause to grow
    • grow wheat
  11. to let grow on the body
    • grew a beard
  12. to promote the development of
    • start a business and grow it successfully -- J. L. Deckter

growing pains -n pl

  1. pains in the legs of growing children having no demonstrable relation to growth
  2. the stresses and strains attending a new project or development

growing point -n

  1. the undifferentiated end of a plant shoot from which additional shoot tissues differentiate

growl ['grau̇(-ə)l] -vb

  1. rumble
    • his stomach growl ed
  2. to utter a growl
    • the dog growl ed at the stranger
  3. to complain angrily
  4. to utter with a growl : utter angrily
  5. a deep guttural inarticulate sound

growl·er ['grau̇-lər] -n

  1. one that growls
  2. a container (as a can or pitcher) for beer bought by the measure
  3. a small iceberg

growl·ing ['grau̇-liŋ] -adj, adv

  1. marked by a growl
    • a low growling voice
    • listened to the growling thunder

growly ['grau̇-lē] -adj, n

  1. resembling a growl
    • a growly voice

grown ['grōn] -adj

  1. fully grown : mature
    • grown men and women
  2. covered or surrounded with vegetation
    • land well grown with trees
  3. cultivated or produced in a specified way or locality used in combination
    • shade- grown tobacco
  4. overgrown with used in combination
    • a weed- grown patio

grownup ['grōn-,əp] -adj

  1. not childish or immature : adult
  2. of, for, or characteristic of adults
    • insisted on wearing grownup clothes
  3. adult

growth ['grōth] -n

  1. a stage in the process of growing : size
  2. full growth
  3. the process of growing
  4. progressive development : evolution
  5. increase, expansion
    • the growth of the oil industry
  6. something that grows or has grown
  7. an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as a tumor)
  8. outgrowth
  9. the result of growth : product
  10. a producing esp. by growing
    • fruits of his own growth
  11. anticipated progressive growth esp. in capital value and income
    • some investors prefer growth to immediate income

growth company -n

  1. a company that grows at a greater rate than the economy as a whole and that usu. directs a relatively high proportion of income back into the business

growth cone -n

  1. the specialized motile tip of an axon of a growing or regenerating neuron

growth factor -n

  1. a substance (as a vitamin B 12or an interleukin) that promotes growth and esp. cellular growth

growth hormone -n

  1. a vertebrate polypeptide hormone that is secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and regulates growth
  2. a recombinant version of this hormone called also somatotropin
  3. growth regulator

growth industry -n

  1. a business that has become increasingly popular or profitable
  2. an interest or activity that is increasingly popular or trendy

growth regulator -n

  1. any of various synthetic or naturally occurring plant substances (as an auxin or gibberellin) that regulate growth

growth ring -n

  1. a layer of wood (as an annual ring) produced during a single period of growth

growthy ['grō-thē] -adj, n

  1. exceptionally fast in growing and gaining weight

grow up -vi

  1. to grow toward or arrive at full stature or physical or mental maturity
    • growing up intellectually, socially, and physically

groyne ['grȯin] -n

  1. groin

GRP -abbr

  1. glass-reinforced plastic

GRU -abbr

  1. Chief Intelligence Directorate

grub ['grəb] -vb, n

  1. to clear by digging up roots and stumps
  2. to dig up by or as if by the roots
  3. to dig in the ground esp. for something that is difficult to find or extract
  4. to search about
    • grubbed in the countryside for food -- Lamp
  5. toil, drudge
    • grubbing along at newspaper jobs -- Walter Kirn
  6. a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect (as a beetle)
  7. one who does menial work : drudge
  8. a slovenly person
  9. food

grub·by ['grə-bē] -adj, adv, n

  1. infested with fly maggots
  2. dirty, grimy
    • grubby hands
  3. slovenly, sloppy
  4. worthy of contempt : base
    • grubby political motives

grub·stake ['grəb-,stāk] -n

  1. supplies or funds furnished a mining prospector on promise of a share in his discoveries
  2. material assistance (as a loan) provided for launching an enterprise or for a person in difficult circumstances

grubstake -vt, n

  1. to provide with a grubstake

Grub Street ['grəb-] -n

  1. the world or category of needy literary hacks

grudge ['grəj] -vt, n

  1. to be unwilling to give or admit : give or allow reluctantly or resentfully
    • didn't grudge the time
  2. a feeling of deep-seated resentment or ill will

grudging -adj, adv

  1. unwilling, reluctant
  2. done, given, or allowed unwillingly, reluctantly, or sparingly
    • grudging compliance

gru·el ['grü-əl] -n

  1. a thin porridge
  2. punishment
  3. something that lacks substance or significance
    • the argument was thin gruel

gru·el·ing ['grü-ə-liŋ] -adj, adv

  1. trying or taxing to the point of exhaustion : punishing
    • a grueling race

grue·some ['grü-səm] -adj, adv, n

  1. inspiring horror or repulsion : grisly

gruff ['grəf] -adj, adv, n

  1. rough, brusque, or stern in manner, speech, or aspect
    • a gruff reply
  2. being deep and harsh : hoarse
    • a gruff voice
  3. to utter in a gruff voice or manner

grum·ble ['grəm-bəl] -vb, n, adv, adj

  1. to mutter in discontent
  2. growl, rumble
  3. to express with grumbling

grummet ['grä-mət, 'grə-] -n

(variant of grommet)

  1. a flexible loop that serves as a fastening, support, or reinforcement
  2. an eyelet of firm material to strengthen or protect an opening or to insulate or protect something passed through it

grump ['grəmp] -n

  1. a fit of ill humor or sulkiness usu. used in pl.
  2. a person given to complaining
  3. sulk
  4. grumble, complain
  5. to utter in a grumpy manner

grumpy ['grəm-pē] -adj, adv, n

  1. moodily cross : surly

grunge ['grənj] -n

  1. one that is grungy
  2. rock music incorporating elements of punk rock and heavy metal
  3. the untidy fashions typical of fans of grunge

grun·gy ['grən-jē] -adj

  1. shabby or dirty in character or condition
  2. characteristic of grunge music or fashion

grun·ion ['grən-yən] -n

  1. a silverside ( Leuresthes tenuis) of the California coast notable for the regularity with which it comes inshore to spawn at nearly full moon

grunt ['grənt] -vb, n

  1. to utter a grunt
  2. to utter with a grunt
  3. the deep short sound characteristic of a hog
  4. a similar sound
  5. any of a family (Haemulidae syn. Pomadasyidae) of chiefly tropical marine bony fishes
  6. a dessert made by dropping biscuit dough on top of boiling berries and steaming
    • blueberry grunt
  7. a U.S. army or marine foot soldier esp. in the Vietnam War
  8. one who does routine unglamorous work often used attributively
    • grunt work

grun·tle ['grən-tᵊl] -vt

  1. to put in a good humor
    • were gruntled with a good meal and good conversation -- W. P. Webb

grutch ['grəch] -vt

  1. begrudge

grutten ['grēt] -vt, n

(variant of greet)

  1. to address with expression of kind wishes upon meeting or arrival
    • greet ed guests at the door
  2. to meet or react to in a specified manner
    • greet ed him with boos
  3. to occur as a response to
    • apathy greet ed the plan
  4. to appear to the perception of
    • a surprising sight greet ed her eyes
  5. weep, lament

Gru·yere [grü-'yer, grē-] -n

  1. a firm cheese with small holes and a nutty flavor that is of Swiss origin
  2. a process cheese made from natural Gruyere

gr wt -abbr

  1. gross weight

gryphon ['gri-fən] -n

(variant of griffin)

  1. a mythical animal typically having the head, forepart, and wings of an eagle and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion