grave

grave · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A place of burial for a dead body, typically a hole dug in the ground.

  2. 2.

    Serious or solemn in manner or appearance.

  3. 3.

    Death or a place of death (figurative).

  4. 4.

    Giving cause for alarm; serious.

Forms

plural: graves

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    turn in one's grave — (of a dead person) would be shocked or outraged
  • •
    from the cradle to the grave — throughout one's entire life
  • •
    dig one's own grave — do something that causes one's own downfall
  • •
    one foot in the grave — very old or ill, near death
  • •
    grave concern — serious worry

Related words

See also: cemetery, graveyard, serious, tomb
Synonyms: burial_place, sepulcher, tomb

Etymology

As a noun, from Old English græf ("grave, trench"), from Proto-Germanic grabą. As an adjective, from Old French grave, from Latin gravis ("heavy, serious").