grave
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grave¹
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
Where it comes from
From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with West Frisian grêf (“grave”), Dutch graf (“grave”), Low German Graf (“a grave”), Graff, German Grab (“grave”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian grav (“grave”), Icelandic gröf (“grave”). Related to groove.
noun graves
- An excavation in the earth as a place of burial. He had lain in the grave four days.
- Any place of interment.
- Any place containing one or more corpses.
- Death, destruction. […]Meeting is pleasure, parting is a grief; / An inconstant lover is worse than a thief; / A thief can but rob you, and take all you have, / An inconstant lover will bring you to the grave![…]
- Deceased people; the dead. "Hold your jaw, woman! I've had enough to vex me to-day without you startin' your tantrums. You're jealous of the grave. That's wot's the matter with you." "And her brats can insult me as they like - me that 'as cared for you these five years."
Similar: grievous
grave²
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
Where it comes from
From Middle English graven, from Old English grafan (“to dig, dig up, grave, engrave, carve, chisel”), from Proto-Germanic *grabaną (“to dig”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Dutch graven (“to dig”), German graben (“to dig”), Danish grave (“to dig”), Swedish gräva (“to dig”), Icelandic grafa (“to dig”).
verb graves · graving · graved · graven
- To dig. He hath graven and digged up a pit.
- To carve or cut, as letters or figures, on some hard substance; to engrave. Thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel.
- To carve out or give shape to, by cutting with a chisel; to sculpture. to grave an image
- To impress deeply (on the mind); to fix indelibly. O! may they graven in thy heart remain.
- To entomb; to bury. […]And lie full low, graved in the hollow ground.
- To write or delineate on hard substances, by means of incised lines; to practice engraving.
grave³
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
Where it comes from
From Middle French grave, a learned borrowing from Latin gravis (“heavy, important”). Compare Old French greve (“terrible, dreadful”). Doublet of grief.
adjective graver · gravest
-
Characterised by a dignified sense of seriousness.
[Mercuti] Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.
Similar: austere, solemn, sombre, frightful, demure, serious, grave, earnest, grievous, lack-laughter, thoughtful, sad
-
Low in pitch, tone etc.
The thicker the cord or string, the more grave is the note or tone.
Opposite: acute, deep, flat, low-pitched
-
Serious, in a negative sense; important, formidable.
Israel’s behaviour is doing grave damage to the Palestinian people and to any hope for peace.
Similar: serious, momentous, capital, important, big, central, consequential, critical, crucial, epochful, essential, extraordinary
- Dull, produced in the middle or back of the mouth. (See Grave and acute on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )
-
Influential, important; authoritative.
An illiterate fool sits in a mans seat; and the common people hold him learned, grave, and wise.
Similar: magisterial, masterful, oracular, sterling
noun graves
- A grave accent, the diacritic mark `.
grave⁴
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English greyve. Doublet of graaf (borrowed from the Dutch cognate graaf (“count, earl”)) and graf (borrowed from the German cognate Graf (“count, earl”)).
noun graves
- A count, prefect, or person holding office.
grave⁵
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
verb graves · graving · graved
- To clean, as a vessel's bottom, of barnacles, grass, etc., and pay it over with pitch — so called because graves or greaves were formerly used for this purpose.
grave⁶
- /ɡɹeɪv/
- /ɡɹɑːv/
Rhymes with -eɪv, -ɑːv
noun graves
- A kilogram. At the origin of the metric system the new unit of weight was called the grave, and was equivalent to the kilogram. The denomination grave would in some respects have been preferable to kilogram.
Grave⁷
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, from Middle English greyve (“steward”).
* Also as an English surname, variant of Grove.
* As a French surname, from the noun gravier (“gravel”).
* As a north German surname, variant of Graf; also from the Low German noun Graf (“ditch, grave”) (see grave).
proper noun Graves
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tomb, sculpture, sculpt, engrave, inscribe, heavy, weighty, severe, important, solemn, critical, sedate, grievous, dangerous, grave accent, serious
noun
Similar: grievous
Translations
Every language
noun excavation for burial
| Español | sepultura, fosa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 무덤 mudeom, 묘 myo |
| 日本語 | 墓 haka |
| 中文 | 墳墓 /坟墓 fénmù |
| हिन्दी | क़ब्र qabra, समाधि samādhi, गोर gor |
| Kiswahili | kaburi |
| Português | sepultura, cova, túmulo |
| Français | tombe |
| Deutsch | Grab |
| Italiano | fossa, tomba |
| Ελληνικά | τάφος táfos |
| Română | mormânt |
| Русский | моги́ла mogíla |
| Tiếng Việt | mộ, mồ, mả, phần mộ |
| العربية | قَبْر qabr, ضَرِيح ḍarīḥ |
| עברית | קֶבֶר kéver |
verb to carve letters or similar
| Español | grabar |
|---|---|
| Français | graver |
| Italiano | intagliare |
| Русский | выреза́ть vyrezátʹ, гравирова́ть gravirovátʹ |
verb to impress on the mind
| Español | grabar |
|---|---|
| Français | graver |
| Italiano | imprimere |
| Русский | производи́ть впечатле́ние proizvodítʹ vpečatlénije, произвести́ впечатле́ние proizvestí vpečatlénije |
adj having a sense of seriousness
| Español | serio, seco, solemne, reservado, sombrío |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 厳粛 genshuku |
| 中文 | 嚴重 /严重 yánzhòng, 嚴肅 /严肃 yánsù, 沉重 chénzhòng |
| Français | grave |
| Deutsch | gewichtig, gemessen, gravitätisch |
| Italiano | solenne, grave |
| Ελληνικά | βαρύς varýs |
| Română | grav |
| Русский | серьёзный serʹjóznyj |
adj low in pitch, tone
| Español | grave, bajo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 低音 dīyīn, 低頻 /低频 |
| Deutsch | dumpf, dunkel |
| Italiano | grave |
| Română | grav |
| Русский | ни́зкий nízkij |
adj serious in a negative sense
| Español | grave, apremiante |
|---|---|
| Français | grave |
| Deutsch | respektgebietend, furchtgebietend |
| Italiano | opprimente |
| Ελληνικά | βαρύς varýs |
| Русский | тяжёлый tjažólyj, серьёзный serʹjóznyj |
Talk about this word "grave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grave. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grave. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grave "grave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grave.Cite this
@misc{grave_2026,
title = {grave},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grave},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
