groove

1 of 2

noun

1
: a long narrow channel or depression
2
a
: a fixed routine : rut
b
: a situation suited to one's abilities or interests : niche
3
: top form
a great talker when he is in the groove
4
: the middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit
a fastball right in the groove
5
: an enjoyable or exciting experience
6
: a pronounced enjoyable rhythm

groove

2 of 2

verb

grooved; grooving

transitive verb

1
a
: to make a groove in
b
: to join by a groove
2
: to perfect by repeated practice
grooved her golf swing
3
: to throw (a pitch) in the groove

intransitive verb

1
: to become joined or fitted by a groove
2
: to form a groove
3
: to enjoy oneself intensely
4
: to interact harmoniously
contemporary minds and rock groove togetherBenjamin DeMott
groover noun

Examples of groove in a Sentence

Noun the grooves on a vinyl record The door slides along a groove in the doorframe. He's a great pitcher when he's in a groove. She hasn't yet found her groove. They've gotten stuck in a groove in their jobs. Verb We grooved to the beat. if you groove that piece of wood, we should be able to fit this smaller board into it
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Gonzaga perfectly illustrated — and attacked — the flaws of a KU team that never consistently hit its groove. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024 These masses seek the source of that sound Friday through Sunday and to absorb the grooves and flashing lights. Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024 Beginning with a guitar riff and a squealing sound akin to a dental drill, the drummers kick into the groove and everyone settles into a jagged riff. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024 Her level of skills demonstrates confidence, dynamic movement quality, and a true understanding of the groove and swag of hip-hop. Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024 After two scoreless innings, De La Salle found its groove in the third. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024 The water dam border has grooves between each square on the mat, which helps the doormat absorb excess water and moisture. Lee Alisha Williams, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2024 There was a swank lounge with low-slung seating for members, a zine with writings on punk rock and architecture, and a groovy soundtrack of hip-hop, down-tempo groove, and jazz, all passions of Kashy’s, who got his start in the music business working with artists such as the Beastie Boys. Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024 Finding its groove under its new head coach Arthur Silva after opening the tournament with a pair of 1-0 victories, Brazil has received goals from 12 different players in the five matches and outscored Argentina, Mexico and Panama by a total of 13-1. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
In typical fashion, though, the camera cut to perennial awards show dancer Taylor Swift, who was on her feet grooving to the song and mouthing its lyrics, and laughed in response Cyrus' quip. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 5 Feb. 2024 The fresh cut is bursting with pop vitality, and, since the stroke of midnight, is accompanied with an official music video that follows Max on his travels from Los Angeles, CA to Seoul, South Korea where the pair get down to moving and grooving for the cameras. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024 The video cuts between footage of Bacon and Sedgwick separately grooving down the same hallway (presumably in their family home), sporting white tank tops and jeans to emulate Bacon's character from the 1984 classic (with white Crocs for a slightly more modernized look). Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024 Here's a list of fast and slow jams to groove to in the days leading up to Super Bowl 58. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 Soon, well over 1,000 dancers and spectators were grooving with Elzie. Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 In videos posted to TikTok, Perry bops her head to the track and belts out the song’s chorus, as Rita Ora grooves next to her. Anna Chan, Billboard, 23 Feb. 2024 The next day, reggae will groove on one stage as '90s and 2000s rock bands scream from another. Chris Persaud, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024 Uncle Waffles is taking DJing to another level, coming out from behind the decks to groove with her dancers — emphasizing performance along with specializing in the South African Amapiano genre. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'groove.' 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

Middle English grove pit, cave, from Middle Dutch groeve; akin to Old High German gruoba pit, cave, Old English grafan to dig — more at grave entry 5

First Known Use

Noun

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1686, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of groove was in 1659

Dictionary Entries Near groove

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

groove

1 of 2 noun
1
: a long narrow channel made in a surface
2
: a fixed routine : rut
3
: top form

groove

2 of 2 verb
grooved; grooving
1
a
: to form a groove in
b
: to become grooved
2
: to enjoy very much

Medical Definition

groove

noun
: a long narrow depression occurring naturally on the surface of an organism or an anatomical part

More from Merriam-Webster on groove

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!