graces

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of grace.

   He won people over with the small social graces that put everyone at ease.

   She thanked her hosts with the polished graces expected at a formal dinner.

   Note

   The plural belongs only to the countable meanings of the noun. Charming qualities pluralize readily, as in social graces, and so do the short prayers said at meals, the ornamental grace notes of music, and the rule-bending moves allowed in patience. Elegance of movement and a debtor's allowance of time are uncountable, so a dancer has grace, never graces, and a debtor is given grace, not graces.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of grace.

   A single antique mirror graces the otherwise bare hallway.

   The mayor graces the ceremony with a short opening speech each year.

   Note

   Every sense of the verb is transitive, so this form always needs an object: a mirror graces a hallway, a guest graces an occasion. The honoring sense often adds with to name the favor, as in graces the ceremony with a speech or graces us with her presence. A musician who graces a melody adds ornaments to it, the verbal side of the grace notes found under the plural noun.

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