graft

¹

[ graft, grahft ]

noun

1. Horticulture.
   1. a bud, shoot, or scion of a plant inserted in a groove, slit, or the like in a stem or stock of another plant in which it continues to grow.
   2. the plant resulting from such an operation; the united stock and scion.
   3. the place where the scion is inserted.
2. Surgery. a portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth.
3. an act of grafting.

verb (used with object)

1. to insert (a graft) into a tree or other plant; insert a scion of (one plant) into another plant.
2. to cause (a plant) to reproduce through grafting.
3. Surgery. to transplant (a portion of living tissue, as of skin or bone) as a graft.
4. to attach as if by grafting:

   an absurdity grafted onto an otherwise coherent body of thought.

5. Nautical. to cover (a rope) with a weaving of rope yarn.

verb (used without object)

1. to insert scions from one plant into another.
2. to become grafted.

   Synonyms: transplant, implant, adhere, join

graft

²

[ graft, grahft ]

noun

1. the acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, especially through the abuse of one's position or influence in politics, business, etc.
2. a particular instance, method, or means of thus acquiring gain or advantage.
3. the gain or advantage acquired.
4. British Slang. work; labor.

verb (used with object)

1. to obtain by graft.

verb (used without object)

1. to practice graft.

graft

¹

/ ɡrɑːft /

noun

1. horticulture
   1. a piece of plant tissue (the scion), normally a stem, that is made to unite with an established plant (the stock), which supports and nourishes it
   2. the plant resulting from the union of scion and stock
   3. the point of union between the scion and the stock
2. surgery a piece of tissue or an organ transplanted from a donor or from the patient's own body to an area of the body in need of the tissue
3. the act of joining one thing to another by or as if by grafting

verb

1. horticulture
   1. to induce (a plant or part of a plant) to unite with another part or (of a plant or part of a plant) to unite in this way
   2. to produce (fruit, flowers, etc) by this means or (of fruit, flowers, etc) to grow by this means
2. to transplant (tissue) or (of tissue) to be transplanted
3. to attach or incorporate or become attached or incorporated

   to graft a happy ending onto a sad tale

graft

²

/ ɡrɑːft /

noun

1. work (esp in the phrase hard graft )
2. 1. the acquisition of money, power, etc, by dishonest or unfair means, esp by taking advantage of a position of trust
   2. something gained in this way, such as profit from government business
   3. a payment made to a person profiting by such a practice

verb

1. intr to work
2. to acquire by or practise graft

graft

/ grăft /

Noun

1. A shoot or bud of one plant that is inserted into or joined to the stem, branch, or root of another plant so that the two grow together as a single plant. Grafts are used to strengthen or repair plants, create dwarf trees, produce seedless fruit, and increase fruit yields without requiring plants to mature from seeds.
2. A piece of body tissue that is surgically removed and then transplanted or implanted to replace a damaged part or compensate for a defect.
3. See also allograft

Verb

1. To join a graft to another plant.
2. To transplant or implant a graft.

graft

1. In politics, the illegal acceptance of bribes by government officials.

Derived Forms

• ˈgrafter, noun
• ˈgrafting, noun
• ˈgrafter, noun

Other Words From

• graft·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of graft¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier graff, Middle English graffe, craffe, from Old French graife, greffe, graffe, from Late Latin graphium “hunting knife” ( Latin: “stylus”), from Greek grapheîon “pencil, paint brush,”derivative of gráphein “to write”; so called from the resemblance of the point of a (cleft) graft to a stylus; English excrescent t as in against ( def )

Origin of graft²

First recorded in 1855–60; perhaps special use of graft ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of graft¹

C15: from Old French graffe, from Medieval Latin graphium, from Latin: stylus, from Greek grapheion, from graphein to write

Origin of graft²

C19: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

He led several high-profile investigations at USA Today, including stories surrounding the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, FBI agent and convicted spy Robert Hanssen, and allegations of bribery and graft among Olympic officials.

From Washington Post

He shut down the investigation in February amid persistent allegations of graft against his own son.

From Ozy

A third, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, is under pretrial detention over graft allegations.

From Ozy

Maliga suspects the proto-plastids might contain or produce signaling molecules that help the graft wound heal.

From Quanta Magazine

“This is not what you would expect from a plant cell,” said Pal Maliga, a plant scientist at Rutgers University who has independently found genetic evidence for the transfers of chloroplasts and mitochondria inside grafts.

From Quanta Magazine

The old culture of the Party of Regions—its lack of transparency, the graft and the shady deal making—has returned.

From The Daily Beast

And the military support groups' letter suggests that widespread graft has continued under its successors.

From The Daily Beast

The country was ranked 144 of 177 nations surveyed by Transparency International in its 2013 graft perception index.

From The Daily Beast

It's just typical political graft … It was a lot more about quantity than quality.

From The Daily Beast

For most people, this is irrelevant; politics should be clean, regardless of the benefits of honest graft.

From The Daily Beast

Those that are crying the loudest against the grafters are just waiting for a chance to graft good and hard themselves.

From Project Gutenberg

Graft among British policemen is unknown and bribery altogether unheard of.

From Project Gutenberg

To carry out your metaphor of the tree, the graft cut from the parent stock must bear fruit for itself.

From Project Gutenberg

The big graft in this neck-a woods is political, and the Red Tower gang is only set-a cogs in the bull-wheel.

From Project Gutenberg

But I am determined that Hatch shall not be allowed to work his graft a second time upon the people who are trusting me.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• affix
• implant
• propagate