noun

grave

grayv

noun

A hole dug in the ground to bury a dead body.

"They stood quietly beside his grave."

"Fresh flowers were placed on the grave every Sunday."

adj

Very serious, especially in a way that causes worry or concern.

"The doctor's expression suggested grave news."

"They face grave consequences if the deal falls through."

How to Use Grave

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the place where someone is buried, or (as an adjective) very serious and worrying.

Common mistake

The noun (burial place) and the adjective (serious) come from completely different word histories, even though they're spelled the same.

Easily confused with

grieve →

Common pairings

dig a grave grave danger grave concern grave mistake

Word Forms

graver comparative, graven past tense, graved past tense, graved past tense, graves plural, graves plural, graves plural, graves plural, Graves plural, graves singular, graves singular, gravest superlative

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They stood quietly beside his _____.

Etymology

From Old English græf ("cave, grave, trench"), related to the word "groove". The adjective sense is a separate, later borrowing from Latin gravis ("heavy, serious").

Synonyms

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grievous

Related Words

serious grievous

Rhymes for grave

ave save have wave cave nave pave rave fave Dave weave leave

See all rhymes for grave →

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