grave¹ Definition
grave (grāv)
adjective grav′·er, grav′·est
- requiring serious thought; important; weighty grave doubts
- not light or trifling in nature or in consequence; grievous a grave sin
- seriously threatening health, well-being, or life; critical; dangerous a grave illness
- seriously contrary to what is right or desirable; extremely bad a grave fault
- Theol. so evil as to cause spiritual death; mortal a grave sin
- dignified and solemn or sedate in manner or mien
- somber; dull grave colors
- low or deep in pitch
Etymology: Fr < L gravis, heavy, weighty < IE base *gwer-, heavy, mill > quern, Gr barys, heavy, Sans gurúh, grave
grave¹ Related Forms
grave² Definition
grave (grāv)
noun
- a hole in the ground in which to bury a dead body
- any place of burial; tomb
- final end or death; extinction
Etymology: ME < OE græf (akin to OFris gref, Ger grab) < base of grafan, to dig: see gravethe
transitive verb graved, grav′en or graved, grav′·ing
- Obsolete
- to dig
- to bury
- Archaic
- to shape by carving; sculpture
- to engrave; incise
- to impress sharply and clearly; fix permanently
Etymology: ME graven < OE grafan; akin to Ger graben < IE base *ghrebh-, to scratch, scrape
grave² Idioms
have one foot in the grave
to be very ill, old, or infirm; be near death
make someone turn (over) in his (or her) grave
to be or do something that would have shocked or distressed someone now dead
grave³ Definition
grave (grāv)
transitive verb graved, grav′·ing
to clean barnacles, etc. from (the hull of a wooden ship) and coat with pitch or tar
Etymology: ME graven, prob. < OFr grave (Fr grève), beach, coarse sand (see gravel): ships were orig. beached for cleaning the hulls
grave4 Definition
grave (grä′ve)
adjective, adverb
Musical Direction slowly and with solemnity
Etymology: It
grave Synonyms
grave
modif.
grave Synonyms
grave
n.
A burial place
vault, sepulcher, tomb, pit, crypt, mausoleum, catacomb, long home, burial chamber, burial pit, burial place, six feet of earth, last resting place, narrow house, place of interment, mound, barrow, cromlech, clay, cairn, tumulus, dolmen, cold mud*, pine*, wooden shroud*, pit for the dead*, charnel house*, last home*, permanent address*. Death
dissolution, decay, last sleep; see death 2.
make one turn (over) in one's grave*
have one foot in the grave*
grave Usage Examples
Converse of object
- dig: Her son even dug a grave in the garden.
- desecrate: Even with her passenger's walking difficulties this was no reason to desecrate two graves simply for their own benefit.
- tend: There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew.
Adjective modifier
- unmarked: Jones is buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby St Mary's churchyard.
- watery: One poor woman was so intoxicated that she tumbled into the water at the depot and met a watery grave.
- shallow: We bury her in a shallow grave by the road.
- mass: The location of mass graves appears to be rare.
- marked: Over 160,000 soldiers died during that time; most are buried on the peninsula, not all in marked graves.
- unpurchased: Right 4: You have the right to be buried in an unpurchased grave.
Modifies a noun
- robber: The same place had once been grave robbers because.
- danger: Experience | Danger in Vietnam | Joseph | Vision | Buy Have you ever been in grave danger?
- slab: There are said to be 3 18th century grave slabs also.
- marker: Sited on the plinth, below the horse's tail, is Horner's original wooden cross grave marker.
- misgiving: Was any action of any kind taken or proposed in response to the grave misgivings at how our business together was being conducted?
- concern: The prospects of BNFL running Dounreay would be viewed with grave concern by many outside the industry.
Noun used with modifier
battlefield: Notes: 1. Arundell's original battlefield grave marker is located near the entrance to Cheltenham Cemetery.
Possessives
pauper: Making no attempt to solve the crime, the local authorities rapidly transfer the corpse to a pauper's grave.
Preposition: in
- churchyard: There are two World War I war graves in the churchyard also.
- cemetery: There is also one war grave in the nearby cemetery.
Preposition: from
battlefield: It was enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from the battlefields of Arras and the Ancre and from other burial grounds.
Browse dictionary entries near grave
- ‹ gravamen
- ‹ Graustarkian
- ‹ graupel
- ‹ Graubünden
- ‹ gratulate
- ‹ gratuity
- ‹ gratuitous contract
- ‹ gratuitous
- ‹ Grattan
- ‹ gratitude
- grave accent ›
- gravedigger ›
- gravel ›
- gravel-blind ›
- gravelly ›
- graven ›
- graven image ›
- Gravenhage ›
- Gravenstein ›
- graver ›

