grade

GRAYD/ɡɹeɪd/

Pluralgrades

Verbgrades, grading, graded

23 meanings of grade

Practice

1
year of schoolingnounCanadaPhilippinesUScountable
One of the numbered years in school that a child moves through.
Like steps on a staircase, where each step is one school year.
My daughter is in the third grade this year.
Kids learn to read in the early grades.
UsageSay in fifth grade or in grade five. Both mean the same school year.
Similaryear, class, form
2
quality levelnouncountable
How good something is or how high it ranks, shown as a level on a scale.
Like levels in a video game, going from low to high.
This shop sells olive oil of the highest grade.
We bought a lower grade of lumber to save money.
UsageOften joined to another word: food-grade plastic is safe for food; top-grade means the best.
Note
3
result (school work)nounCanadaPhilippinesUScountable
A number or letter that shows how well you did on a test or in a class.
Like a gold star that shows how well you did.
She got a high grade on her math test.
My grade in history went up after the final exam.
UsageSay a grade on a test and a grade in a class: a good grade in math.
Similarmark, score
4
mark testsverbCanadaUStransitive
To give a score to a test or to a student's work.
Teachers grade the exams over the weekend.
She graded fifty essays last night.
UsageTeachers grade tests or students. Grade on a curve means scores depend on how the whole class did.
Similarmark, score, assess, evaluate
5
verbtransitive
To sort things into groups by quality or level.
Like sorting fruit into baskets by size.
Workers grade the apples by size before packing.
The wool is graded into three classes.
UsageOften graded by size or quality. A graded reader is a book for one reading level.
Similarsort, classify, rank, rate, categorize
6
slopenouncountable
How much a road, railway, or path slopes up or down.
Like a ramp that goes up or down.
The truck slowed down on the steep grade.
Cyclists struggle on a long grade.
UsagePeople often say a steep grade or a gentle grade.
Similargradient, slope, incline, pitch
Note
7
level landverbtransitive
To make a large area of ground flat and smooth.
Like smoothing wet sand flat with your hand.
Workers grade the land before laying the foundation.
They graded the road after the storm washed it out.
Similarlevel, flatten, smooth
Note
8
ground levelnouncountable or uncountable
The level of the ground at a certain spot.
The pipes were buried below grade.
They built the patio at grade with the lawn.
UsageBuilders say at grade, above grade or below grade, without the.
Similarlevel, elevation
Note
9
nounCanadacountable
A student who belongs to a particular school year.
My little sister is a grade two at the school down the street.
The grade sixes helped the younger kids find their classrooms.
UsageAdd the -s to the number: the grade fives, the grade twelves.

Less common meanings

10
tumor levelnouncountable
A number that shows how fast and dangerous a tumor is likely to be.
Like a danger level that shows how serious something is.
The doctor said the tumor's grade was low, which was good news.
A high grade means the cancer may spread quickly.
Note
11
blend graduallyverbintransitive
To slowly change from one type or level into another with no clear dividing line.
Like one color slowly turning into another in a rainbow, with no clear line between them.
The desert slowly grades into grassland as you travel north.
These rock layers grade into one another over many miles.
UsageUsually used as grade into: sand grades into clay.
Similarmerge, blend, shade
Note
12
label dataverbtransitive
To sort pieces of information and give each one a label, usually by hand.
We grade each email by hand as spam or not spam.
She graded every comment by hand as happy, angry, or neutral.
UsageOften said as graded by hand or graded on a scale.
Similarlabel, annotate, tag, classify
Note
13
nouncountable
A flat area of ground made smooth by a leveling machine.
The crew parked the trailers on the new grade.
Workers inspected the grade before pouring concrete.
14
verbdatedCanadaintransitive
To move up from one school year to the next one.
Similaradvance, move, progress, pass
Note
15
noun
A group of living things sorted by how complex their bodies are, not by shared ancestors.
16
noun
Any of the three forms an adjective or adverb can take to show degree, like 'big', 'bigger', 'biggest'.
17
verb
To show degree by changing a word's form or adding words such as 'very' or 'more'.
18
verb
To make a clothing pattern bigger or smaller for different sizes while keeping its shape the same.
19
verb
To trim the layers of extra fabric beside a stitched seam to different widths, reducing bulk.
20
noun
A unit for measuring angles, where a right angle equals one hundred of them.
21
nounPhilippines
The numbers an eye doctor gives that say how strong your glasses lenses need to be.
22
noun
In advanced geometry, the number of points where several general shapes cross freely.
23
noun
A harsh scraping or cutting, or the rough, grating sound it makes.
The whistle of the shot as it cuts the leaves / Of the maples around the church’s eaves— / And the grade of hatchets, fiercely thrown, / On wigwam-log, and tree, and stone.
1836, John Greenleaf Whittier, Mogg Megone

Practice

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Origin

This word came from French grade, meaning a grade or degree. It goes back to Latin gradus, meaning a step or pace.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

English grade came from French grade, meaning a grade or degree. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately comes from Latin gradus, meaning a step or pace. en.wiktionary.org