1
2
a
: a person responsible for the feeding, exercising, and stabling of horses
b(1)
archaic
: manservant
(2)
: one of several officers of the English royal household
groomed; grooming; grooms
1
: to clean and maintain the appearance of (an animal)
especially
: to maintain the health and condition of the coat of (a horse, dog, etc.) by brushing, combing, currying, or similar attention
2
: to make neat or attractive
an impeccably groomed person
spent hours grooming the lawn
3
a
: to make (someone) ready for a specific objective : prepare
was being groomed as a presidential candidate
b
: to build a trusting relationship with (a minor) in order to exploit them especially for nonconsensual sexual activity
: to groom oneself
grooming in front of the mirror
Examples of groom in a Sentence
Verb
The horses are being groomed for the competition.
She spent hours grooming herself.
She always seems to be perfectly groomed and neatly dressed.
He is being groomed to take over the company.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 8 Feb. 2026
The bus was headed to the village of the groom after the wedding ceremony, but the groom and bride were in a different vehicle and survived.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Feb. 2026
Katy Spratte Joyce, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
For families Children can groom and walk St Bernard dogs, make their own mocktails and meet llamas and alpacas as part of the fun and varied activities at the complimentary kids club (10am-9pm).
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for groom
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Noun
Some clinics have already started advertising these injections as part of pre-wedding crash slimming programs to help brides or grooms get into shape quickly for their big day.
—Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 8 Feb. 2026
The bus was headed to the village of the groom after the wedding ceremony, but the groom and bride were in a different vehicle and survived.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
Ski Brule sits on 3,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula wilderness, with roughly 150 acres groomed for ski and snowboard use.
—Katy Spratte Joyce, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
For families Children can groom and walk St Bernard dogs, make their own mocktails and meet llamas and alpacas as part of the fun and varied activities at the complimentary kids club (10am-9pm).
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for groom
Cite this Entry
“Groom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groom. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
1
a
archaic
: a male servant
b
: a person in charge of horses
2
groom
2 of 2 verb1
: to clean and keep up the appearance of (as the coat of a horse or dog)
2
: to make neat, attractive, or acceptable
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