grave

1 of 6

noun (1)

1
: an excavation (see excavation sense 2) for burial of a body
broadly : a burial place
2
a
: death sense 1a
believes there is life beyond the grave

grave

2 of 6

adjective

ˈgrāv How to pronounce grave (audio)
in sense 3 often
ˈgräv How to pronounce grave (audio)
graver; gravest
1
a
: meriting serious consideration : important
grave problems
b
: likely to produce great harm or danger
a grave mistake
c
: significantly serious : considerable, great
grave importance
d
obsolete : authoritative, weighty
2
: having a serious and dignified quality or demeanor
a grave and thoughtful look
3
a
of an accent mark : having the form `
b
: marked with a grave accent
c
: of the variety indicated by a grave accent
4
: low-pitched in sound
5
: drab in color : somber
gravely adverb
graveness noun
: a grave accent ` used to show that a vowel is pronounced with a fall of pitch (as in ancient Greek), that a vowel has a certain quality (such as è in French), that a final e is stressed and close and that a final o is stressed and low (as in Italian), that a syllable has a degree of stress between maximum and minimum (as in phonetic transcription), or that the e of the English ending -ed is to be pronounced (as in "this cursèd day")

grave

4 of 6

adverb or adjective

gra·​ve ˈgrä-(ˌ)vā How to pronounce grave (audio)
: slowly and solemnly
used as a direction in music

grave

5 of 6

verb (1)

graved; graven ˈgrā-vən How to pronounce grave (audio) or graved; graving

transitive verb

1
a
: to carve or cut (something, such as letters or figures) into a hard surface : engrave
graved the dates of his birth and death on the headstone
b
: to carve or shape with a chisel : sculpture
2
: to impress or fix (a thought, a memory, etc.) deeply
3
archaic : dig, excavate

grave

6 of 6

verb (2)

graved; graving

transitive verb

: to clean and pay with pitch
grave a ship's bottom
Choose the Right Synonym for grave

serious, grave, solemn, sedate, staid, sober, earnest mean not light or frivolous.

serious implies a concern for what really matters.

a serious play about social injustice

grave implies both seriousness and dignity in expression or attitude.

read the proclamation in a grave voice

solemn suggests an impressive gravity utterly free from levity.

a sad and solemn occasion

sedate implies a composed and decorous seriousness.

remained sedate amid the commotion

staid suggests a settled, accustomed sedateness and prim self-restraint.

a quiet and staid community

sober stresses seriousness of purpose and absence of levity or frivolity.

a sober look at the state of our schools

earnest suggests sincerity or often zealousness of purpose.

an earnest reformer

Examples of grave in a Sentence

Adjective This violation of school rules is a grave matter. His carelessness could have grave consequences. They have placed themselves in grave danger. I have grave doubts about this plan. suffering from a grave illness The judge issued his ruling with a grave expression. The French word père is written with a grave accent over the first e.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Proof would be the watery grave of Earhart’s twin-engine Lockheed Electra. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 These crowns were either placed in the grave or, later on, in churches. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 On Wednesday night, Lucas tweeted a meme of herself flashing a peace sign over a grave with a headstone meant to represent the project. Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Burial in a pauper’s grave has historically conveyed a harsh judgment on a life lived. Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 But the authors did not detect the highest values in the tombs with the most cinnabar, and some cinnabar-free graves had bones, nevertheless, loaded with mercury. Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 From 2018 to 2023, more than two hundred secret graves were found in the municipality of Tecomán, which has a little more than a hundred and fifteen thousand inhabitants. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 About 30 percent of the graves are unidentified, according to records. Gerard Albert, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 History Etched In the Bones Another study conducted around the time of the grave’s discovery provides a fascinating picture of the king’s diet and environment at various stages of his life, all revealed through isotope techniques to reconstruct his life history. Leslie Katz, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Adjective
An invasion would shut down that effort or at least put it at grave risk at the moment it is most sorely needed, Sullivan said. Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024 Our investigation ultimately led to a 2019 lawsuit to hold this landlord accountable for subjecting people to grave health and safety risks at six different rental properties. Suzanne Dershowitz, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 These travels have then influenced the creation of memorial and grave gardens back home, inspired by the first modern cemeteries where gravestones doubled as planters. Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024 In Beijing, Brussels, and Washington, there seemed to be broad agreement that AI can cause potentially grave harms and that concerted transnational action was needed. Aziz Huq, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2024 The bulk carrier went down off Yemen after a Houthi missile attack, and poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tons of fertilizer threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts warn. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024 Riyad said there is grave uncertainty among many Muslims on how this year’s festivities will play out for Palestinians. Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024 So why then would Facebook have initially blocked posts about a drama that is trying to enlighten the public about what even the Department of Homeland Security acknowledges as one of the gravest threats facing the nation? Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 The Gray Lady has for several weeks been in the crosshairs of a vocal set of critics and readers who believe that Donald Trump poses a grave threat to American democracy and that the influential news organization isn’t adequately conveying those stakes to the public. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grave.' 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 (1)

Middle English, from Old English græf; akin to Old High German grab grave, Old English grafan to dig

Adjective and Noun (2)

Middle French, from Latin gravis heavy, grave — more at grieve

Adverb or adjective

Italian, literally, grave, from Latin gravis

Verb (1)

Middle English, from Old English grafan; akin to Old High German graban to dig, Old Church Slavonic pogreti to bury

Verb (2)

Middle English graven

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1d

Noun (2)

1609, in the meaning defined above

Adverb Or Adjective

1683, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of grave was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near grave

Cite this Entry

“Grave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grave. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grave

1 of 4 verb
graved; graven ˈgrā-vən How to pronounce grave (audio) or graved; graving

grave

2 of 4 noun
1
: a hole dug to bury a body in
2

grave

3 of 4 adjective
ˈgrāv,
 in sense 3 often  ˈgräv
1
a
: deserving serious consideration : important
a grave matter
b
: threatening great harm or danger
received a grave injury
2
: dignified in appearance or manner : solemn, serious
a grave and thoughtful look
3
: of, marked by, or being an accent mark having the form `
gravely adverb
graveness noun

grave

4 of 4 adverb or adjective
gra·​ve
ˈgräv-(ˌ)ā
: in a slow and solemn manner
used as a direction in music
Etymology

Verb

Old English grafan "dig, carve"

Adjective

from early French grave "important, serious, weighty," from Latin gravis "heavy, serious" — related to aggravate, gravity, grieve

Medical Definition

grave

adjective
: very serious : dangerous to life
used of an illness or its prospects
a grave prognosis

More from Merriam-Webster on grave

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