grammar

noun gram·mar \ ˈgra-mər \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Definition of grammar

1 a : the study of the classes of words, their inflections (see inflection 3), and their functions and relations in the sentence

b : a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in inflection (see inflection 3) and syntax (see syntax 1)

2 a : the characteristic system of inflections (see inflection 3) and syntax of a language

b : a system of rules that defines the grammatical structure of a language

3 a : a grammar textbook

b : speech or writing evaluated according to its conformity to grammatical rules

appalled at the bad grammar of college students

4 : the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique

a grammar of the theater

; also : a set of such principles or rules

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grammarian

play \grə-ˈmer-ē-ən\ noun

See grammar defined for English-language learners

See grammar defined for kids

Examples of grammar in a Sentence

English grammar can be hard to master.
comparing English and Japanese grammar
comparing the grammars of English and Japanese
“Him and I went” is bad grammar.
I know some German, but my grammar isn't very good.

Recent Examples of grammar from the Web

But the grammar was beyond teaching, or rather learning, in a classroom.

— thomas swick, Longreads, "Letters from Trenton," 5 July 2018
The author, a scholar of linguistics, revels in the minutiae of spelling, grammar, and usage, and her love of our living, changing language is infectious.

— helen rosner, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 6 June 2018
Clear and efficient communication, complete with good grammar, is essential.

— kate lopaze, USA TODAY, "Careers: These skills are vital for administrative assistants," 26 Mar. 2018
Hypercorrection happens when a person overapplies the rules of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation.

— melissa mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, "Bending over backward to be wrong," 7 June 2018
According to some of the teachers that wrote these standards, the state normally edits for clarity and grammar and makes changes to document formatting.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Arizona state education standards see evolution deleted," 23 May 2018
The cartoons, which returned to the airwaves from 1993 to 1999, focused on teaching children school subjects like history, math, and grammar through songs set to animation.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "'Schoolhouse Rock' composer and performer Bob Dorough dies in Pa. home at 94," 24 Apr. 2018
Its unusual syntax and rules of grammar baffled the Japanese, and America finally gained the advantage of surprise in combat. 110.

— azcentral, "From climate to fry bread, 125 reasons to love Arizona," 15 May 2015
There's no proof that Twitter typos and grammar errors help that.

— eugene scott, Washington Post, "Do Trump’s Twitter typos and grammar errors actually endear him to his base?," 22 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grammar.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of grammar

Middle English gramere, from Anglo-French gramaire, modification of Latin grammatica, from Greek grammatikē, from feminine of grammatikos of letters, from grammat-, gramma — more at gram

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year