Meaning & use
grave
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Meanings
nouncountable
A place in the ground where a dead person is buried, often marked by a stone.
Grammar: A countable noun: dig a grave, visit a grave.
Patterns
- the grave of someone
- at the graveside
Every spring she puts flowers on her father's grave.
The workers dug a grave beside the old church.
Names were carved on the stones above each grave.
adjectivecomparableformal
Very serious and likely to have important or dangerous results.
Grammar: Usually before a noun and in formal speech: a grave mistake, graver news.
Patterns
- a grave danger
- grave doubts
The doctors said the patient was in grave danger.
He made a grave error by trusting the stranger.
Officials have grave concerns about the dam.
adjectivecomparableliterary
Solemn and serious in manner or expression.
Grammar: Describes a person's look or voice: a grave expression.
The judge's grave face told us what the verdict would be.
She spoke in a grave voice as she read out the names.
Word forms
| plural | graves |
|---|---|
| comparative | graver |
| superlative | gravest |
Common combinations
- grave danger
- The hikers were in grave danger from the storm.
- grave concern
- Teachers expressed grave concern about the new rules.
- mass grave
- Archaeologists found a mass grave from the ancient battle.
- turn in one's grave
- Her grandmother would turn in her grave at the mess.
- a grave mistake
- Ignoring the warning was a grave mistake.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tomb
- A tomb is a larger structure or chamber for the dead, while a grave is a hole in the ground.
- serious
- Serious is the everyday word, while grave sounds stronger and more formal.
- solemn
- Solemn describes a dignified or ceremonial manner and need not suggest danger.
- critical
- Critical stresses the point at which things may succeed or fail, not general weight.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: grave or gravity? grave or grieve?
grave vs gravity
Gravity is the force that pulls things toward Earth and also means seriousness, while grave is the burial place or the adjective.
grave vs grieve
Grieve means to feel deep sorrow, and sounds somewhat like grave without the same meaning.
Practice
The inspector warned that the cracks in the bridge posed a ___ danger to drivers.
Choose one answer.
Before the noun danger you need an adjective, and grave means very serious; gravely is an adverb and gravity and graveyard are nouns.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.