gross

1 of 4

adjective

1
a(1)
: glaringly noticeable usually because of inexcusable badness or objectionableness
a gross error
(2)
: out-and-out, utter
a gross injustice
b
: visible without the aid of a microscope
a gross lesion
c
archaic : immediately obvious
Now to all sense 'tis gross you love my son.William Shakespeare
2
a
: coarse in nature or behavior : unrefined
has gross table manners
b
: gravely deficient in civility or decency : crudely vulgar
merely gross, a scatological rather than a pornographic improprietyAldous Huxley
c
informal : inspiring disgust or distaste
That sandwich looks gross.
3
a
: of, relating to, or dealing with general aspects or broad distinctions
a gross outline of the plan
b
: consisting of an overall total exclusive of deductions
gross income
compare net
4
a
: big, bulky
b
: growing or spreading with excessive luxuriance
a gross riot of vegetation
5
: made up of material or perceptible elements
6
: deficient in knowledge : ignorant, untutored
7
archaic : not fastidious in taste : undiscriminating
grossly adverb
grossness noun

gross

2 of 4

verb

grossed; grossing; grosses

transitive verb

: to earn or bring in (an overall total) exclusive of deductions (as for taxes or expenses)
The movie grossed over 100 million dollars.
grosser noun

gross

3 of 4

noun (1)

1
: overall total exclusive of deductions
The company's gross doubled in five years.
2
obsolete : amount, sum

gross

4 of 4

noun (2)

plural gross
: an aggregate of 12 dozen things
a gross of pencils
Choose the Right Synonym for gross

coarse, vulgar, gross, obscene, ribald mean offensive to good taste or morals.

coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language.

found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive

vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding.

a loud vulgar belch

gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters.

obscene language not allowed on the air

ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

flagrant, glaring, gross, rank mean conspicuously bad or objectionable.

flagrant applies usually to offenses or errors so bad that they can neither escape notice nor be condoned.

flagrant abuse of the office of president

glaring implies painful or damaging obtrusiveness of something that is conspicuously wrong, faulty, or improper.

glaring errors

gross implies the exceeding of reasonable or excusable limits.

gross carelessness

rank applies to what is openly and extremely objectionable and utterly condemned.

rank heresy

Examples of gross in a Sentence

Adjective They have suffered a gross injustice. She has a gross habit of chewing on the ends of her hair. Verb They grossed $50,000 before taxes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The first in a series of visually striking films, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was massively successful, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars and winning the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 To date, the family film has grossed $120 million at the domestic box office and a solid $268 million worldwide. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 25 Feb. 2024 The race to partake in the music biopic gold rush can be traced to Universal’s N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which grossed $202.2 million at the worldwide box office in 2015, not adjusted for inflation. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 Wonka has grossed $209.8 million at the domestic box office and more than $600 million worldwide since its release in December. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 19 Feb. 2024 The picture had its first commercial release in South Korea in December and became the highest grossing foreign documentary in the last three years. Patrick Frater, Variety, 16 Feb. 2024 Reviews on the biopic — which starred Naomi Ackie as Houston and Stanley Tucci as producer Clive Davis — were mixed, and the film went on to gross about $60 million worldwide. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2024 In India, the film grossed $27 million in fifteen days at the ticket windows. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 The $15 million feature grossed just under $30 million for Universal Pictures domestically and earned more than $57 million worldwide. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Feb. 2024
Noun
The preview gross includes $1 million tacked on from an earlier Imax fan event, while Imax screens turned in a huge $4.5 million of the total preview gross. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024 The film will be lucky to push past a $35 million total domestic gross through the weekend — not exactly franchise-starter numbers, considering its $80 million production budget and additional marketing and distribution costs. J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 24 Feb. 2024 On the second day, the film managed a global gross of $2 million. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 John’s farewell tour wrapped five years after launching — and being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, illness and injury — with grosses of $939.1 million and 6 million tickets sold over 330 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 25 Jan. 2024 Directed by Kim Sung-su and with a Korean gross exceeding $90 million, the action drama is based on true events in December 1979, which resulted in an eight-year military junta in South Korea. Patrick Frater, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 The initial budget of $7 million became $44 million by the end of production, equal to $200 million in today’s value, against a gross of a mere $1.5 million. Antonio Monda, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024 With a domestic haul of $64.2 million and a worldwide gross of $100.2 million, the Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell starring film is proving that romcoms can still succeed at the box office. Shania Russell, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024 The film has a lower gross per showing, but ran more frequently. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gross.' 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

Adjective, Verb, and Noun (1)

Middle English grosse, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French gros large, thick, whole, from Late Latin grossus coarse

Noun (2)

Middle English gros, probably from Anglo-French grosse sum, whole, from feminine of gros

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1c

Verb

1884, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gross was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near gross

Cite this Entry

“Gross.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gross. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gross

1 of 4 adjective
1
a
: very obvious : glaring
a gross error
b
: shameful sense 1
gross injustice
2
: big entry 1 sense 2a, bulky
especially : excessively fat
3
: consisting of a whole before any deductions
gross earnings
4
: coarse sense 5, vulgar
gross language
5
: causing disgust or distaste
grossly adverb
grossness noun

gross

2 of 4 noun
: a whole before any deductions

gross

3 of 4 verb
: to earn before deductions
grossed $50,000 before taxes

gross

4 of 4 noun
plural gross
: 12 dozen
a gross of pencils
Etymology

Adjective

Middle English gros, gross "large, thick, easy to see or understand," from early French gros "thick, coarse," from Latin grossus (same meaning)

Noun

Middle English gros "a group of 12 dozen," probably from early French grosse "sum, whole," derived from gros "thick"

Medical Definition

gross

adjective
1
a
: glaringly or flagrantly obvious
b
: visible without the aid of a microscope : macroscopic
gross lesions
compare occult
2
: growing or spreading with excessive or abnormal luxuriance
3
: of, relating to, or dealing with general aspects or broad distinctions
important to understand the gross behavior of the sexually responding animalA. C. Kinsey
grossly adverb

Legal Definition

gross

1 of 3 adjective
1
: flagrant or extreme especially in badness or offensiveness : of very blameworthy character
a gross violation of the rules of ethics
a gross abuse of trust
2
: consisting of an overall total exclusive of deductions
gross annual earnings
compare net
grossly adverb
grossness noun

gross

2 of 3 noun
: overall total exclusive of deductions

gross

3 of 3 transitive verb
: to earn or bring in (an overall total) exclusive of deductions (as for taxes or expenses)
Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, immediately obvious, from Middle French gros thick, coarse, from Latin grossus

Biographical Definition

Gross

biographical name

David J(onathan) 1941–     American physicist

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