SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

the Grim Reaper

Definition of the Grim Reaper

: death thought of as a man or skeleton holding a scythe and wearing a dark cloak with a hood a visit from the Grim Reaper

Word by Word Definitions

grimplay Grim

: fierce in disposition or action : savage
: stern or forbidding in action or appearance
: somber, gloomy

See the full definition of grim

reaperplay Reaper

: one that reaps
: any of various machines for reaping grain

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Seen and Heard

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WORD OF THE DAY

depredate

play

to plunder or ravage

Words at Play

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We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

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How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

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Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

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Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

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Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

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Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

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True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

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Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

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