gravity

noun, often attributive grav·i·ty \ ˈgra-və-tē \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

plural gravities

1 a : dignity or sobriety of bearing

a person of gravity and learning

b : importance, significance; especially : seriousness

the gravity of the offense

c : a serious situation or problem

2 : weight

3 a (1) : the gravitational attraction of the mass of the earth, the moon, or a planet for bodies at or near its surface

(2) : a fundamental physical force that is responsible for interactions which occur because of mass between particles, between aggregations of matter (such as stars and planets), and between particles (such as photons) and aggregations of matter, that is 10^-39 times the strength of the strong force, and that extends over infinite distances but is dominant over macroscopic distances especially between aggregations of matter — called also gravitation, gravitational force; compare electromagnetism 2a, strong force, weak force

b : acceleration of gravity

c : specific gravity

See gravity defined for English-language learners

See gravity defined for kids

Examples of gravity in a Sentence

the hospital waiting room was filled with the kind of gravity that inevitably accompanies worry

Recent Examples of gravity from the Web

She was moved to Methodist Hospital, where she was confined to a bed tilted head downward, using gravity to keep the unborn baby in place.

— roy bragg, San Antonio Express-News, "Kayla Reinagel rides for her life," 12 Apr. 2018
And from that intense gravity, in turn, comes all sorts of open looks for Ingles.

— rob mahoney, SI.com, "Alternative NBA Awards: Inside-Basketball Honors to Highlight Underrated Facets of the Game," 10 Apr. 2018
The hunt for wispy particles called axions, which might make up the dark matter whose gravity keeps galaxies from falling apart, is heating up.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Search for superlight dark matter particles heats up," 9 Apr. 2018
The prevailing attitude has been playfully postmodern, but time has brought more emotional gravity to these occult sessions.

— charles mcnulty, latimes.com, "With 'A Pink Chair,' Wooster Group conjures from spirits from theater's past," 7 Apr. 2018
Just how much have the rules of political gravity been suspended in the Trump era?

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Koch network growing frustrated with the GOP’s 2018 agenda," 6 Apr. 2018
And its artistry would have done any Egyptian proud, with etchings of falcon heads, winged gods, and a head of pharaonic gravity.

— edward rothstein, WSJ, "‘Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World’ Review: A Cross-Cultural Journey Begins," 31 Mar. 2018
That’s comparable to shares in 2014 and 2015 who said the same, but the survey also finds that the political gravity has shifted in the interim towards the left — and the issue of guns and gun control.

— NBC News, "A majority of Americans are ready to protest. Here's what's got them fired up.," 30 Mar. 2018
Joe Blocker, played by Bale, who brings all the expected gravity to the role.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "'Hostiles' movie review: Cast saves Western from going South," 24 Jan. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of gravity

Middle French or Latin; Middle French gravité, from Latin gravitat-, gravitas, from gravis — see ⁴grave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1505

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

gravity Synonyms

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

GRAVITY Defined for English Language Learners

gravity

noun

: a very serious quality or condition : the condition of being grave or serious
: the natural force that tends to cause physical things to move towards each other : the force that causes things to fall towards the Earth

GRAVITY Defined for Kids

gravity

noun grav·i·ty \ ˈgra-və-tē \

plural gravities

1 : a force of attraction that tends to draw particles or bodies together

2 : the attraction of bodies by the force of gravity toward the center of the earth

3 : great seriousness

Word Root of gravity

The Latin word gravis, meaning “heavy” or “serious,” gives us the root grav. Words from the Latin gravis have something to do with heaviness or seriousness. Something grave, or important, such as a situation, requires serious thought and consideration. To aggravate is to make a situation more serious. Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards the ground making it feel heavy.