grade

A grade is a way of rating the quality, worth, rank or order of things or how well someone performed. (noun)

Grade means to make something evenly leveled or sloped, or to assign a rating. (verb)

An example of to grade is removing bumps and filling holes in a road.
An example of to grade is to read student essay and assign a rating from A to F.

See grade in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

any of the stages in an orderly, systematic progression; step; degree
1. a degree or rating in a scale classifying according to quality, rank, worth, intensity, etc.: often in hyphenated compounds: grade A eggs, weapons-grade plutonium
2. any of the official ranks or ratings of officers or enlisted men: an army colonel and a navy captain are in grade O-6
3. an accepted standard or level: up to grade
4. a group of people of the same rank, merit, worth, etc.
☆
1. the degree of rise or descent of a sloping surface, as of a highway, railroad, etc.
2. such a sloping surface
the ground level around a building
☆
1. any of the divisions in a school curriculum usually equal to one year; most systems in the U.S. include twelve grades after the kindergarten
2. a group of pupils forming such a division in a school
☆ a mark or rating on an examination, in a school course, etc.
☆ Animal Husbandry an animal with one parent of pure breed
Linguis. any of the various forms in which a vowel may appear in grammatically or etymologically related forms as a result of gradation

transitive verb graded, grading

to arrange or classify by grades; rate according to quality, rank, worth, etc.; sort
to give a grade (sense ) to
to gradate
☆ to level or slope (ground, a road, etc.) evenly
☆ Animal Husbandry to improve by crossing with a pure breed: often with up

intransitive verb

See grade in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(grād)

noun

A stage or degree in a process.
A position in a scale of size, quality, or intensity: a poor grade of lumber.
An accepted level or standard.
A set of persons or things all falling in the same specified limits; a class.
a. A level of academic development in an elementary, middle, or secondary school: learned fractions in the fourth grade.
b. A group of students at such a level: The third grade has recess at 10:30.
c. grades Elementary school.
A number, letter, or symbol indicating a student's level of accomplishment: a passing grade in history.
A military, naval, or civil service rank.
The degree of inclination of a slope, road, or other surface: the steep grade of the mountain road.
A slope or gradual inclination, especially of a road or railroad track: slowed the truck when he approached the grade.
The level at which the ground surface meets the foundation of a building.
A domestic animal produced by crossbreeding one of purebred stock with one of ordinary stock.
Linguistics A degree of ablaut.

verb grad·ed, grad·ing, grades

verb, transitive

To arrange in steps or degrees.
To arrange in a series or according to a scale.
a. To determine the quality of (academic work, for example); evaluate: graded the book reports.
b. To give a grade to (a student, for example).
To level or smooth to a desired or horizontal gradient: bulldozers graded the road.
To gradate.
To improve the quality of (livestock) by crossbreeding with purebred stock.

verb, intransitive