gravel 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of gravelnext
as in hoarse
harsh and dry in sound after his bout with laryngitis, he had a terribly gravel voice

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

gravel

2 of 3

verb

as in to baffle
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty managed to gravel his opponent in the debate by focusing on atypical examples

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

gravel

3 of 3

noun

as in sand

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gravel
Adjective
The first part of the road, which is paved, is maintained by the state; the rest is gravel and stretches across Seymour's property and those of other neighbors. — Dana Hedgpeth The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2026 Starting on Burlington’s waterfront, this 13-mile route traces the shoreline before funneling riders onto the Colchester Causeway, a narrow, gravel path that stretches across Lake Champlain. — Erin Gifford, Outside, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
Cranes helped shift the carriages as police and soldiers helped pick through the wreckage strewn down the gravel slope where at least three train carriages were tossed by the impact. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 Also experiencing a surge in demand are purveyors of gravel, wires, and cables. — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 27 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gravel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gravel
  1. hoarse
  2. baffle
  3. sand
  4. gruff
  5. puzzle
  6. soil
  7. husky
  8. confuse
Adjective
  • His voice sounded hoarse from his marathon of back-to-back rallies ahead of Election Day.
    — Shahrzad Rasekh Patrick Cooley Mark Bonamo Kevin Williams, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Now life was like that; some days fine and firm and full of whatever, while other days the hoarse bark of the neighbors’ dog or a friend’s grim diagnosis and her body succumbed to an emotional gravity that pulled her into a free fall.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of hoarse
Verb
  • However, having gone through this first season, many are now baffled as to how the algorithm works.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But, about eight days before the election, when Acker heard that Stevens was thinking about switching her endorsement from El-Sayed to the Republican Senate candidate, Mike Rogers, he was baffled.
    — Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of baffle
Noun
  • Other new displays include Lightwave, an immersive tunnel of moving and fixed chrome spheres; Cosmic Garden, a glowing hillside inspired by meditative sand gardens; and Fairy Forest, featuring glowing orbs and illuminated mushrooms.
    — Rick West, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Three days later a second olive ridley laid eggs eight miles south on the sand in Huntington Beach.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of sand
Adjective
  • The two-time Oscar winner wrote in his upcoming memoir, Look at Me, that Nichols was gruff in their interactions.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Loneliness looms as a threat to all genders, but men, who are lauded for gruff stoicism and scorned for vulnerability, can be especially ill-equipped to navigate atomization.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of gruff
Verb
  • But what is puzzling is that the country’s leaders are not acting.
    — Oliver Melton, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But doing so means obstructing the inner part of the corona, which harbors the most important processes that underpin the puzzling phenomena of the sun’s upper atmosphere.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of puzzle
Noun
  • Cooks in the Farm-to-Fork capital can choose between organic turkeys, heritage breeds with more dark meat and complex flavors, and poultry raised using regenerative agricultural practices which protect soil health.
    — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Florida began establishing soil and water conservation districts as far back as the 1930s, charging them with carrying out local programs to conserve and protect soil, water and land for agricultural purposes.
    — Beth Kassab, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of soil
Adjective
  • Gomez, who has a noticeably husky, raspy voice at times, answered a fan question about her vocal quirkiness during an Instagram Live session last December.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Her husky voice made Pugh, as an up-and-comer, seem wise beyond her years in breakout roles as a Machiavellian teenage bride in Lady Macbeth and an actor turned spy in The Little Drummer Girl.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of husky
Verb
  • For months, Republicans have suspected that the second Dan Sullivan’s Senate bid was designed to confuse voters as part of a broader scheme allegedly plotted by the Democratic Party to boost Peltola’s chances.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe should not be confused with evidence that extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth, Kirkpatrick said.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of confuse

Browse Nearby Words

graved
gravel
gravel-blind
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gravel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gravel. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on gravel

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gravel

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of abandon

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All