grade

1 of 4

noun

ˈgrād 

1

a

: a level of study in an elementary, middle, or secondary school that is completed by a student during one year

will enter eleventh grade this year

students in the second grade

b

: the students in the same year of study in elementary, middle, or secondary school

The ninth grade is away on a field trip.

c(1)

: a position in a scale of ranks or qualities

Each grade of steel contains sub-divisions corresponding to steels of different yield stress and impact requirements.

—G. D. Taylor

(2)

: a stage in a process

… we should bear in mind that animals displaying early transitional grades of the structure will seldom continue to exist to the present day, for they will have been supplanted by the very process of perfection through natural selection.

—Charles Darwin

d

: a degree of severity in illness

grade III carcinoma

e

: a military or naval rank

To be prepared for burial Claggart's body was delivered to certain petty-officers of his mess. And … the Master-at-arms was committed to the sea with every funeral honor properly belonging to his naval grade.

—Herman Melville

… her father being a country clergyman who had never reached a higher grade than that of an archdeacon …

—Anthony Trollope

2

a

: a mark indicating a degree of accomplishment in school

earned good grades in school

What was your grade on the math test?

b

: a class of things of the same stage or degree

c

: a standard of food quality

Extra-virgin is the highest grade of olive oil.

—Lisa McManus

3

a

: the degree of inclination of a road or slope

… one track went straight up the steep hill, the other one turned square off to the right, with a very slight grade.

—Mark Twain

also : a sloping road

The car … toiled up the long, long grades, past Ash Fork, towards Flagstaff, where the forests and quarries are, under the dry, remote skies.

—Rudyard Kipling

b

: a datum or reference level

especially : ground level sense 1a

4

: a domestic animal with one parent purebred and the other of inferior breeding

5

[translation of German Stufe] linguistics : any of the variants of a root or affix (distinguished by a particular vowel or the absence of any vowel) in the ablaut series of an Indo-European language

6

grades plural : the elementary school system

gradeless

ˈgrād-ləs 

adjective

grade

2 of 4

verb

graded; grading

transitive verb

1

a

: to assign to a grade or assign a grade to

… Mrs. Granger would be the one grading their spelling tests and their reading tests …

—Andrew Clements

… these students are being graded by the instructor whose methods or information they have reason to question.

—Mary Lefkowitz

b

: to arrange in grades : sort

Each printing plant sends sample copies of its press run to the color lab, where they are graded for quality.

—Robert Neuwirth

c

: to arrange in a scale or series

2

: to level off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface

The ground should be graded to direct water flow away from the home.

—Consumer Reports

intransitive verb

1

a

: to form a series

b

: blend

Notice that the mud and the sand grade into each other along the sandbar.

—Sheldon Judson and Marvin E. Kauffman

2

: to be of a particular grade

gradable

ˈgrā-də-bəl 

adjective

grade

3 of 4

adjective

: being, involving, or yielding domestic animals of improved but not pure stock

grade ewes

grade breeding

-grade

4 of 4

adjective combining form

: walking

plantigrade

Synonyms

Noun

• chapter
• cut
• degree
• inch
• notch
• peg
• phase
• place
• point
• stage
• step

Verb

• assort
• break down
• categorize
• class
• classify
• codify
• compartment
• compartmentalize
• digest
• distinguish
• distribute
• group
• peg
• place
• range
• rank
• relegate
• separate
• sort
• type

Examples of grade in a Sentence

Noun

The fifth grade will perform their annual play this week.

a grade of 90 percent or better

Her grades are up this semester.

an expensive grade of leather

Verb

Students will be graded on their reading ability.

She hasn't finished grading the exams.

How would you grade your meal on a scale from one to five?

The eggs are graded according to size.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to the report, around 46% of people in the U.S. live in an area that received a failing grade in at least one of the three measures that were studied: short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution and ozone pollution. —Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2025

According to air quality data from 2021 to 2023, about 156 million people – 25 million more than last year’s report – live in an area that the association gives a failing grade for ozone and two measures of fine particulate matter pollution. —Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025

Verb

Banks also grades highly in the leadership department. —Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2025

The report graded communities based on levels of ground-level ozone (smog), year-round fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and short-term spikes in PM2.5, also known as soot. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Verb, and Adjective

Latin gradus step, degree, from Latin gradi to step, go; akin to Lithuanian gridyti to go, wander

Adjective combining form

French, from Latin -gradus, from gradi

First Known Use

Noun

1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1c(2)

Verb

1659, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b

Adjective

1852, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing grade

• failing grade/mark
• field grade
• grade A
• grade crossing
• grade inflation
• grade point
• grade point average
• grade school
• grade separation
• grade up
• high-grade
• lieutenant junior grade
• low-grade
• make the grade
• pay grade
• zero grade

Rhymes for grade

• aid
• aide
• bade
• blade
• braid
• clade
• accolade
• ambuscade
• antegrade
• balustrade
• barricade
• cannonade

Kids Definition

grade

1 of 2 verb

ˈgrād 

graded; grading

1

: to arrange in grades : sort

grade apples

2

: to make level or evenly sloping

grade a highway

3

: to give a grade to

grade a student's performance

4

: to assign to a grade

5

: to form a series having only slight differences

colors that grade into one another

grade

2 of 2 noun

1

: position in a scale of rank, quality, or order

the grade of sergeant

leather of the highest grade

2

: a stage, step, or degree in a series, order, or ranking

3

: a class of things that are of the same rank, quality, or order

4

a

: a division of the school course representing a year's work

finished the fourth grade

b

: the pupils in a school division

c

plural : the elementary school system

teach in the grades

5

: a mark or rating especially of accomplishment in school

a grade of 90 on a test

6

: a standard of quality

government grades for meat

7

: the degree of slope (as of a road or railroad track)

Medical Definition

grade

noun

ˈgrād 

: a degree of severity of a disease or abnormal condition

a grade III carcinoma