grade

¹

[ greyd ]

noun

1. a degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity:

   the best grade of paper.

2. a class of persons or things of the same relative rank, quality, etc.
3. a step or stage in a course or process.
4. a single division of a school classified according to the age or progress of the pupils. In the U.S., public schools are commonly divided into twelve grades below college.
5. the pupils in such a division.
6. (the) grades. elementary school:

   He first began teaching in the grades.

7. a letter, number, or other symbol indicating the relative quality of a student's work in a course, examination, or special assignment; mark.
8. a classification or standard of food based on quality, size, etc.:

   grade A milk.

9. inclination with the horizontal of a road, railroad, etc., usually expressed by stating the vertical rise or fall as a percentage of the horizontal distance; slope.
10. Building Trades. Also called grade line. the level at which the ground intersects the foundation of a building.
11. an animal resulting from a cross between a parent of ordinary stock and one of a pure breed.
12. Mathematics. grad ².

verb (used with object)

, grad·ed, grad·ing.

1. to arrange in a series of grades; class; sort:

   a machine that grades two thousand eggs per hour.

   Synonyms: categorize, order, rate, rank, classify

2. to determine the grade of.
3. to assign a grade to (a student's work); mark:

   I graded forty tests last night.

4. to cause to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another.
5. to reduce to a level or to practicable degrees of inclination:

   to grade a road.

6. to cross (an ordinary or low-grade animal) with an animal of a pure or superior breed.

verb (used without object)

, grad·ed, grad·ing.

1. to incline; slant or slope:

   The road grades steeply for a mile.

2. to be of a particular grade or quality.
3. to pass by degrees from one color or shade to another; blend:

   See how the various colors grade into one another.

verb phrase

1. to improve (a herd, flock, etc.) by breeding with purebreds.

-grade

²

1. a combining form meaning “walking, moving,” in the manner or by the means specified by the initial element:

   plantigrade.

grade

¹

/ ɡreɪd /

noun

1. a position or degree in a scale, as of quality, rank, size, or progression

   high-grade timber

   small-grade eggs

2. a group of people or things of the same category
3. a military or other rank
4. a stage in a course of progression
5. a mark or rating indicating achievement or the worth of work done, as at school
6. a unit of pupils of similar age or ability taught together at school
7. 1. a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
   2. Also calledgradient a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
8. a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a right angle or 0.9 degree
9. stockbreeding
   1. an animal with one purebred parent and one of unknown or unimproved breeding
   2. ( as modifier ) Compare crossbred purebred

      a grade sheep

10. linguistics one of the forms of the vowel in a morpheme when this vowel varies because of gradation
11. at grade
    1. on the same level
    2. (of a river profile or land surface) at an equilibrium level and slope, because there is a balance between erosion and deposition
12. make the grade informal.
    1. to reach the required standard
    2. to succeed

verb

1. tr to arrange according to quality, rank, etc
2. tr to determine the grade of or assign a grade to
3. intr to achieve or deserve a grade or rank
4. to change or blend (something) gradually; merge
5. tr to level (ground, a road, etc) to a suitable gradient
6. tr stockbreeding to cross (one animal) with another to produce a grade animal

-grade

²

combining form

1. indicating a kind or manner of movement or progression

   retrograde

   plantigrade

grade

/ grād /

1. The degree of inclination of a slope, road, or other surface.
2. A grouping of organisms done purely on the basis of shared features and without regard to evolutionary relationships. Grades may include organisms that do not share a common ancestor, or may exclude some organisms having the same common ancestor as the other organisms in the grade. For this reason, many taxonomists do not accept grades as formal classifications. The class Reptilia (reptiles) is a grade since it includes dinosaurs but not birds, even though birds are descended from dinosaurs.
3. Compare clade

Other Words From

• mis·grade verb misgraded misgrading
• mis·grad·ed adjective
• mul·ti·grade adjective
• o·ver·grade verb (used with object) overgraded overgrading
• pre·grade verb (used with object) pregraded pregrading noun
• re·grade verb (used with object) regraded regrading
• un·grad·ed adjective
• well-grad·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grade¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from French: “office,” from Latin gradus “step, stage, degree,” derivative of gradī “to go, step, walk”

Origin of grade²

< Latin -gradus, combining form representing gradus step or gradī to walk. See grade, gradient

Word History and Origins

Origin of grade¹

C16: from French, from Latin gradus step, from gradī to step

Origin of grade²

via French from Latin -gradus, from gradus a step, from gradī to walk

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at grade,
   1. on the same level:

      A railroad crosses a highway at grade.

   2. (of a stream bed) so adjusted to conditions of slope and the volume and speed of water that no gain or loss of sediment takes place.
2. make the grade, to attain a specific goal; succeed:

   He'll never make the grade in medical school.

3. up to grade, of the desired or required quality:

   This shipment is not up to grade.

More idioms and phrases containing grade

see make the grade .

Example Sentences

The staff analysis also would cover “what credentials and professional development would be required to ensure the district has the workforce to implement this new course, and what would be the most appropriate grade or grades for students to take this course.”

From Los Angeles Times

Also under review would be changes needed to curriculum at all grade levels to prepare students for high school coursework in this area.

From Los Angeles Times

So they sent me on to fourth grade even though school policy prohibited it.

From Los Angeles Times

I was cut off from my friends and anxious about constant grilling from adults and children asking why I was in the higher grade.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s much easier to grade a test than to evaluate a project, and I don’t know how widely the program could be replicated.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• category
• class
• classification
• condition
• degree
• level
• quality
• size
• standard

Words That Use -grade

What does -grade mean?

The combining form -grade is used like a suffix meaning “walking; moving.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form -grade comes from Latin gradus, meaning “step,” or Latin gradī, meaning “to walk.” These two Latin sources are the root of numerous words in English, from aggressive, degree, and grade to graduate, ingredient, and progress. Check out our entries for these six words to learn more.

Examples of -grade

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -grade is retrograde, “moving backward; having a backward motion or direction; retiring or retreating.” Retrograde comes from Latin retrōgradus, which uses the equivalent of -grade in that language.

The retro- part of the word means “backward,” as you may have guessed. As we have already seen, -grade means “moving.” Retrograde literally translates to “moving backward.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form -grade in French or Latin?

• centigrade
• digitigrade
• plantigrade
• tardigrade

What are some other forms that -grade may be commonly confused with?

• -ade
• -gram
• -graph

Break it down!

The combining form digiti- means “finger.” With that in mind, what does digitigrade literally mean?