gross
Verbgrosses, grossing, grossed
Noun pluralgross, grosses
Formsgrosses, grossing, grossed
Pluralgross, grosses
- 1Causing a strong feeling of disgust or revulsion.
The diner's filthy kitchen was absolutely gross.
Everyone groaned at the gross prank he pulled.
UsageOften so gross, or alone as a cry: Gross! In formal writing, say disgusting instead.
Similardisgusting, revolting, nasty, yucky, grotesque
Oppositepleasant, appealing, delightful
- 2Being the total amount before deductions such as taxes or expenses are subtracted.
The company reported gross revenue of two million dollars.
Her gross salary exceeds what she actually takes home.
UsageComes before the noun: gross income, gross weight. The opposite is net.
Similartotal, overall, aggregate
Oppositenet
Note
Half of a fixed pair: gross is the figure before anything is taken off, and net is what survives. The contrast is often the whole point, as when George Orwell stresses that a miner's wretched earnings are gross earnings, with stoppages still to come. The same idea becomes the noun for a total and the verb of earning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- George Orwell stresses that miners' wretched earnings are gross earnings, before stoppages are deducted. marxists.org
- 3To take in a given total amount of money before expenses are deducted.
The concert grossed nearly a million dollars in ticket sales.
A blockbuster can gross more in a weekend than a small film earns in a year.
UsageThe sum follows directly, with no preposition: the film grossed $5 million.
Note
Film takings are the verb's natural home. Because grossing counts receipts before costs, a film can gross a fortune and still lose money. For what remains after expenses, the matching word is net.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- A film can earn a large box-office gross and still lose money. en.wikipedia.org
- 4Offensive in a glaring, unmistakable way; flagrant and impossible to overlook.
The report described a gross violation of basic rights.
The judge called it a gross miscarriage of justice.
UsageMostly before nouns of wrongdoing: gross negligence, gross injustice, a gross mistake.
Similarserious, shameful, appalling, flagrant, egregious
Oppositeminor
Note
Nothing physical or revolting is implied. Gross negligence is negligence of an unmistakable degree, so keep it apart from the informal "disgusting" sense. Older writers used it the same way, in Shakespeare's "gross rebellion" and Fielding's "gross Villainy." It also fits a concessive phrase, as in Aphra Behn's "how gross soere."
- 5The total amount of money or goods before taxes, expenses, or other deductions are subtracted.
The theater counted its gross before subtracting staff wages.
The film's opening gross broke every previous record.
UsageWorks on its own as a noun: a film's opening gross, the weekend gross.
Similartakings, revenue, receipts, earnings
Oppositenet
Note
In trade the word has a partner besides net: tare, the weight of the packaging or container. Gross weight minus tare gives net weight, just as gross receipts minus expenses give net income.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Tare is the weight of packaging or a container without its contents. bromley.gov.uk
- Subtracting tare weight from gross weight gives net weight. nvlpubs.nist.gov
- Subtracting expenses from total receipts or revenue gives net income. law.cornell.edu
- 6Visible to the naked eye, at a large scale rather than in fine microscopic detail.
The pathologist noted the gross features of the specimen first.
On gross inspection, the tissue appeared healthy.
Similarmacroscopic
Oppositemicroscopic
Note
A pathologist's and anatomist's word for what the unaided eye can see. Gross anatomy studies the organs and structures you can dissect and handle, as against what the microscope reveals. Its partner terms are macroscopic and microscopic. Outside the lab it drifts toward "large-scale, obvious," as in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), which warns against attending only to "the gross and immediate effect."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Gross anatomy studies bodily structures visible without magnification. openstax.org
- Gross anatomy concerns the macroscopic level. en.wikipedia.org
- Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, first published in 1962; the reproduced title page also gives 1962. fadedpage.com
- Carson uses the exact phrase “the gross and immediate effect” while criticizing attention confined to obvious, immediate effects. fadedpage.com
Less common meanings
- 7Coarse in manner or behavior, and offending against accepted standards of morality.
The book was banned for its gross, vulgar humor.
Parents complained about the gross and vulgar language in the show.
Similarvulgar, rude, coarse, obscene
Oppositerefined, decent, proper
Note
Here the offense is against decency and good manners, and the word judges a person's conduct or style. Sheridan's The School for Scandal (1777) has "her manner is gross." The exclamation is older than it looks: in John Ford's 'Tis Pitty Shee's a Whore a character cries "Oh grose!" at a coarse remark, centuries before "That's so gross!" Its near neighbors are coarse, vulgar and obscene.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan wrote The School for Scandal. en.wikipedia.org
- The play contains the words "her manner is gross." en.wikisource.org
- John Ford wrote 'Tis Pitty Shee's a Whore, which dates from centuries ago. emed.folger.edu
- A character exclaims "Oh grose!" in response to a coarse remark. emed.folger.edu
- 8A quantity equal to twelve dozen, that is, 144 items.
The stationer ordered a gross of pen nibs at wholesale.
Each carton held exactly a gross, easing the warehouse count.
UsageAfter a number it usually stays gross, followed by of: three gross of screws.
- 9Dull in perception or feeling; not sensitive to fine impressions.
A thousand liveried Angels lacky her [the chaste soul], Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt, And in cleer dream, and solemn vision Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear.
1634, [John Milton], A Maske Presented at Ludlow CastleFor he is groſſe and like the maſſie earth, That mooues not vpwards, nor by princely deeds Doth meane to ſoare aboue the highest ſort.
c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First PartSimilardull
Note
The inner faculties are what turn dull here: a heart, an ear or a mind too thick to take in finer things. The King James Bible's "this people's heart is waxed gross" and Milton's "things that no gross ear can hear" are the classic uses. The sense is archaic, and a modern reader will hear coarseness or disgust in it, so current writing does better with dull.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Gross has a sense describing insensitivity of perception or feeling. en.wiktionary.org
- The quoted wording occurs in the King James Bible, Matthew 13:15. en.wikisource.org
- Milton wrote the quoted words in Comus; the speaker is the Elder Brother. en.wikisource.org
- 10Readily perceived; plain, evident, and easy to make out.
Note
Shakespeare's Henry V shows it at work: a truth that "stands off as gross / As black and white" is one that could not be plainer. Nothing coarse or offensive is meant, because the word here simply means obvious or clear. The sense is obsolete, and that makes it a trap in older texts, where a "gross" truth may just be a plain one.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Henry V is a work by William Shakespeare. gutenberg.org
- The quoted words occur in Henry V, Act II, scene ii, spoken by King Henry. gutenberg.org
- In this passage, gross means obvious or clear rather than coarse or offensive. en.wiktionary.org
- The sense illustrated by the quotation is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- 11Coarse in make or texture; lacking refinement and of inferior quality.
He scorned my wholesome kennel fare, toothing out dainties and leaving the grosser portions to be finished by the other dogs.
1944, Emily Carr, “Lorenzo Was Registered” - 12Heavy in proportion to one's height, carrying a great deal of excess flesh.
He collected a number of injuries that stopped him jousting, and then in middle age became stout, eventually gross.
2013, Hilary Mantel, “Royal Bodies” - 13Thick, dense, or heavy in substance, sometimes so dense that it is hard or impossible to see through.
Thy spirit ere our fatal loss Did ever rise from high to higher; As mounts the heavenward altar-fire, As flies the lighter thro’ the gross.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam - 14The main body or largest part of something; the bulk.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English 'gros' (large, thick, coarse), from Old French 'gros', from Latin 'grossus' (big, fat, thick, and in Late Latin also coarse or rough). Its further origin is uncertain, but it may be related to Proto-Celtic '*brassos' (great, violent).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Gross derives from Middle English gros, meaning large, thick or coarse, itself from Old French gros. en.wiktionary.org
- Old French gros derives from Latin grossus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin grossus means big, fat or thick, and in Late Latin also coarse or rough. en.wiktionary.org
- The further origin of Latin grossus is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin grossus may be related to reconstructed Proto-Celtic *brassos, meaning great or violent. en.wiktionary.org