- understand or realize (a fact or meaning). —n. - firm hold; grip.
- (foll. By of) a mastery (a grasp of the situation). B mental hold. grasp the nettle tackle a difficulty boldly. [earlier grapse: related to *grope]
GRASS
roots n.pl. - fundamental level or source.
- ordinary people; rank and file of an organization, esp. A political party.
- snake n. Common harmless european snake.
- widow n. (also grass widower) person whose husband (or wife) is away for a prolonged period.
- —n. - a any of a group of wild plants with green blades that are eaten by ruminants. B plant of the family which includes cereals, reeds, and bamboos.
- pasture land.
- grass-covered ground, lawn.
- grazing (out to grass).
- slang marijuana.
- slang informer. —v. - cover with turf.
- us provide with pasture.
- slang a betray, esp. To the police. B inform the police. grassy adj. (-ier, -iest). [old english]
GRATE
v. (-ting) 1 reduce to small particles by rubbing on a serrated surface.
- (often foll. By against, on) rub with a harsh scraping sound.
- utter in a harsh tone.
- (often foll. By on) a sound harshly. B have an irritating effect.
- n. - fireplace or furnace.
- metal frame confining fuel in this. [latin cratis hurdle]
GRAVE
accent n. A mark (`) placed over a vowel to denote pronunciation, length, etc.
- n. - trench dug in the ground for the burial of a corpse; mound or memorial stone placed over this.
- (prec. By the) death. [old english]
- —adj. - a serious, weighty, important. B dignified, solemn, sombre.
- v. (-ving; past part. Graven or graved) 1 (foll. By in, on) fix indelibly (on one's memory).
- archaic engrave, carve. [old english]
GRAVY
n. (pl. -ies) 1 juices exuding from meat during and after cooking.
- sauce for food, made from these etc. [perhaps from a misreading of french grane from grain spice, *grain]
- train n. Slang source of easy financial benefit.
GRAZE
v. (-zing) 1 (of cattle, sheep, etc.) Eat growing grass.
- a feed (cattle etc.) On growing grass. B feed on (grass).
- pasture cattle. [old english: related to *grass]
- —v. (-zing) 1 rub or scrape (part of the body, esp. The skin).
- a touch lightly in passing. B (foll. By against, along, etc.) Move with a light passing contact. —n. Abrasion. [perhaps from *graze1, as if ‘take off the grass close to the ground’]
GREAT
bear see *bear2.
- circle n. Circle on the surface of a sphere whose plane passes through the sphere's centre.
- dane n. Dog of a large short-haired breed.
- deal n. = *deal1 n. 1.
- tit n. Eurasian songbird with black and white head markings.
- war n. World war of 1914–18.
- —adj. - a of a size, amount, extent, or intensity considerably above the normal or average (a great hole; great fun). B also with implied admiration, contempt, etc., esp. In exclamations (you great idiot!; great stuff!). C reinforcing other words denoting size, quantity, etc. (great big hole).
- important, pre-eminent (the great thing is not to get caught).
- grand, imposing (great occasion).
- distinguished.
- remarkable in ability, character, etc. (great men; great thinker).
- (foll. By at, on) competent, well-informed.
- fully deserving the name of; doing a thing extensively (great reader; great believer in tolerance).
- (also greater) the larger of the name, species, etc. (great auk; greater celandine).
- colloq. Very enjoyable or satisfactory (had a great time). 10 (in comb.) (in names of family relationships) denoting one degree further removed upwards or downwards (great-uncle; great-great-grandmother). —n. - great or outstanding person or thing.
- (in pl.) (greats) colloq. (at oxford university) honours course or final examinations in classics and philosophy. greatness n. [old english]
GREBE
n. A kind of diving bird. [french]
GREED
n. Excessive desire, esp. For food or wealth. [from *greedy]
GREEK
cross n. Cross with four equal arms.
- —n. - a native or national of greece. B person of greek descent.
- language of greece. —adj. Of greece or its people or language; hellenic. greek to me colloq. Incomprehensible to me. [old english ultimately from greek graikoi]
To add to the dictionary krossvordista new word or its definition to an existing word, click on the "Add a word or definition of" fill opened form and click "to send".