grade

¹ American  

[greyd] / greɪd /

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. Also called grade line.  Building Trades. 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.

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verb (used with object)

graded, grading

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)

graded, grading

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

idioms

1. up to grade, of the desired or required quality.

   This shipment is not up to grade.

2. 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.

3. make the grade, to attain a specific goal; succeed.

   He'll never make the grade in medical school.

-grade ² American  

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

   plantigrade.

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-grade ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating a kind or manner of movement or progression

   plantigrade

   retrograde

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grade ² British  

/ ɡreɪd /

noun

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

   small-grade eggs

   high-grade timber

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 called: gradient.  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. 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. informal

    1. to reach the required standard

    2. to succeed

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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 Scientific  

/ 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

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grade More Idioms  

1. see make the grade.

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

• misgrade verb
• misgraded adjectivemisgraded, misgrading
• multigrade adjective
• overgrade verb (used with object)
• pregrade verb (used with object)
• regrade verb (used with object)
• ungraded adjective
• well-graded adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

Grade means "to evaluate or rank," like teachers who grade their students or a food inspector who grades a crop, determining whether it is "food-grade." Grade can be both a noun and a verb. The verb form is used when you grade something, meaning you assign it a value. The actual mark assigned is the noun version of the word grade, such as an A or B. The noun grade can be used to indicate the rank or quality of other items as well, like professional-grade cookware. Grade can also describe the slope of a mountain or road, like a steep grade that is dangerous in bad weather.

Example Sentences

So, the billionaire set out to create his own pre-K to 12th grade campus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

It has also pushed back against the demand to hand over its 440kg stockpile of highly-enriched uranium, sticking to its earlier concession to dilute the 60% enriched uranium, which is dangerously close to weapons grade.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

In the second portion, which is more than three hours long, they are tested on their ability to grade the coffee based on factors such as smell and color.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Back when he was in first grade, Bennett feigned illness so he could get sent home and spend some time with his dad, whom he hadn’t seen in two weeks.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

If maybe it’s because he’s in ninth grade, just old enough to be at the edge of my abilities.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Related Words

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