DictionaryAI

grammar

GRAM-er/ˈɡɹæm.ɚ/UKGRAM-uh/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/

Pluralgrammars

10 meanings of grammar

Practice

  1. 1
    language structurenouncountable or uncountable
    The rules that a language follows for putting words together.

    Spanish grammar is quite different from English grammar.

    Children learn the grammar of their first language without being taught.

    UsageWrite grammar (not incorrect: grammer).

    Note
  2. 2
    correct usagenoununcountable
    Ideas about the right and wrong ways to use a language.

    My teacher always corrects my grammar in my essays.

    Bad grammar in a cover letter can make a poor first impression.

    UsageSay bad grammar or a grammar mistake.

    Similarusage

  3. 3
    noununcountable
    The study of how words are put together in a language.

    We have grammar after lunch on Tuesdays.

    My aunt teaches grammar at the university and loves explaining how sentences are built.

    UsageSay study grammar, with no the.

  4. 4
    language booknouncountable
    A book that explains the rules of a language.

    I bought a Spanish grammar to help with my homework.

    The library has old grammars of many languages.

    UsageSay a Spanish grammar for the book.

  5. 5
    schoolnouncolloquialBritishcountable or uncountableabbreviationellipsis
    Short for grammar school, in informal British English: a secondary school that children enter by passing an exam.

    My mum went to the grammar, and my uncle went to the school down the road.

    She got into the grammar after passing her exams.

    UsageSay go to the grammar.

    Note
  6. 6
    basic principlesnounfigurativelycountable
    The basic rules of a subject or skill.

    Jazz players learn the grammar of the music before they start to improvise.

    Every sport has a grammar that new players must learn.

    UsageSay the grammar of music or film.

    Similarlanguage

    Note
  7. 7
    computingnouncountable
    In computing, a set of exact rules that says how the sentences or code of a language must be built.

    The students wrote a grammar for a tiny programming language.

    The program checks your code against the grammar and shows any errors.

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 8
    textbooknounarchaicBritishcountable
    A book that teaches the basic rules of a subject.
    To turn this sort of mixture of a gossip and a gospel into anything like a grammar of Distributism has been quite impossible.
    1926, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, “VI: A Summary”Here, grammar means a basic textbook setting out the main rules of a subject.
    a grammar of geography
    Note
  2. 9
    verbobsoleteintransitive
    To speak or write by the rules of grammar.
    She is in her Moods, and her Tenses: / I'll Grammar with you, / And make a trial how I can decline you
    c. 1619, John Ford, “The Lawes of Candy”Here, Grammar means talk using grammar, with a play on grammar words.
    Note
  3. 10
    noun
    In simulations like Conway's Game of Life, a set of small pieces and joining rules for building bigger moving or still patterns.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from an old French word for learning, which goes back to a Greek word meaning “skilled in writing.”

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • Grammar comes from an Old French word associated with learning. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Old French word ultimately derives from a Greek adjective meaning skilled in writing. en.wiktionary.org