gravel

[ grav-uhl ]

noun

1. small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand.
2. Pathology.
   1. multiple small calculi formed in the kidneys.
   2. the disease characterized by such concretions.

verb (used with object)

, grav·eled, grav·el·ing or (especially British) grav·elled, grav·el·ling.

1. to cover with gravel.
2. to bring to a standstill from perplexity; puzzle.
3. Informal. to be a cause of irritation to.
4. Obsolete. to run (a ship) aground, as on a beach.

adjective

1. harsh and grating:

   a gravel voice.

gravel

/ ˈɡrævəl /

noun

1. an unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments that is coarser than sand
2. geology a mixture of rock fragments with diameters in the range 4–76 mm
3. pathol small rough calculi in the kidneys or bladder

verb

1. to cover with gravel
2. to confound or confuse
3. informal.
   to annoy or disturb

Derived Forms

• ˈgravelish, adjective

Other Words From

• gravel·ish adjective
• un·graveled adjective
• un·gravelled adjective
• well-graveled adjective
• well-gravelled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravel¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French gravele, diminutive of grave sandy shore, perhaps < Celtic; grave ⁴, growan

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravel¹

C13: from Old French gravele, diminutive of grave gravel, perhaps of Celtic origin

Example Sentences

In a book published earlier this year that seems to have been designed to raise her national profile and sort of succeeded, she claimed to have shot a 14-month-old dog in a gravel pit because he wouldn’t behave, as well as to have stared down North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a meeting that, it would later emerge, never took place, because she made it up.

From Slate

I don’t listen to music or podcasts; I just zone out to the crunching of gravel beneath my feet.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was an easy decision,” said Debra, standing on the mud-slicked gravel road outside the tent.

From BBC

After that will come a “giant mattress of gravel” 12 inches deep, Rock said, laced with perforated pipes to collect runoff and direct it into Liberty Canyon Creek.

From Los Angeles Times

Once the gravel is in place, the builders will add about 6,000 cubic yards of “engineered soil” to the structure, Rock said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sand
• shale