groom

1 of 2

noun

1
2
a
: a person responsible for the feeding, exercising, and stabling of horses
b(1)
archaic : manservant
(2)
: one of several officers of the English royal household
3
archaic : man, fellow

groom

2 of 2

verb

groomed; grooming; grooms

transitive verb

1
: to clean and maintain the appearance of (an animal)
especially : to maintain the health and condition of the coat of (a horse, dog, etc.) by brushing, combing, currying, or similar attention
2
: to make neat or attractive
an impeccably groomed person
3
a
: to make (someone) ready for a specific objective : prepare
was being groomed as a presidential candidate
b
: to build a trusting relationship with (a minor) in order to exploit them especially for nonconsensual sexual activity

intransitive verb

: to groom oneself

Examples of groom in a Sentence

Verb The horses are being groomed for the competition. She spent hours grooming herself. She always seems to be perfectly groomed and neatly dressed. He is being groomed to take over the company.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Should the bride and groom be shown the best man’s speech before the wedding? Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2024 While many designers have launched bridal capsule collections of late, the Jacquemus wedding collection caters not only to brides but grooms, the mother and father of the bride, and, of course, the guests. Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 18 Apr. 2024 Her Instagram Stories showed a black-and-white photo of her and Jason, 36, smiling as bride and groom while holding hands during their ceremony. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024 In 1982, 2,075 couples were wed by Moon at Madison Square Garden, brides in lace and satin gowns and grooms clad in identical cobalt suits. TIME, 4 Apr. 2024 The town hall is a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle, but the groom’s parents were not among the 28 guests at the intimate ceremony, which Prince William and Prince Harry attended. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024 Trenton Community Park was bustling with families and dotted with brides and grooms. Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024 Brides and grooms roamed the park in formal attire, pausing occasionally to put on eclipse glasses and stare at the vanishing sun. Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024 Public disapproval of the groom dominated newspaper headlines due to a financial dispute involving his mother that delayed the wedding. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 1 Apr. 2024
Verb
Kristina groomed Fox's brows to perfection, then brushed a blend of light, shimmery white and pale rose shadows across her lids, anchoring the ethereal colors with bold black eyeliner on the top and lower lashline and outward and applying false lashes to the upper lashes. Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Apr. 2024 Sullivan had also groomed the victim and threatened her and her family to prevent her from coming forward. Kerry Breen, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2024 The Vacuum has five grooming tools and a vacuum that can collect 99% of pet hair. Nora Colomer, Fox News, 10 Apr. 2024 This typically includes grooming appointments around once a month, with variations based on the dog's fur growth rate. Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024 Formal, or maintained, landscapes are typically well groomed, requiring frequent maintenance while informal, or free formed, are landscapes where the plants are left to grow. Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 13 Apr. 2024 Around 2014 or 2015, one administrator was accused of harassing students at the school and grooming at least 16 students, according to the lawsuit. Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024 As children have more and more unfettered access to the internet in the digital age, predators – which increasingly include other children – have more opportunities to groom and exploit unsuspecting kids, experts told Fox News Digital. Christina Coulter, Fox News, 29 Mar. 2024 Williams groomed her, the department said, offering her shelter, a phone, and food. Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 22 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'groom.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English grom

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1781, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of groom was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near groom

Cite this Entry

“Groom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groom. Accessed 1 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

groom

1 of 2 noun
1
a
archaic : a male servant
b
: a person in charge of horses
2

groom

2 of 2 verb
1
: to clean and keep up the appearance of (as the coat of a horse or dog)
2
: to make neat, attractive, or acceptable

More from Merriam-Webster on groom

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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