a degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity: the best grade of paper.
a class of persons or things of the same relative rank, quality, etc.
a step or stage in a course or process.
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.
the pupils in such a division.
(the) grades.elementary school: He first began teaching in the grades.
a letter, number, or other symbol indicating the relative quality of a student's work in a course, examination, or special assignment; mark.
a classification or standard of food based on quality, size, etc.: grade A milk.
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.
Building Trades.Also called grade line.the level at which the ground intersects the foundation of a building.
an animal resulting from a cross between a parent of ordinary stock and one of a pure breed.
Mathematics. grad2.
verb (used with object),grad·ed,grad·ing.
to arrange in a series of grades; class; sort: a machine that grades two thousand eggs per hour.
to determine the grade of.
to assign a grade to (a student's work); mark: I graded forty tests last night.
to cause to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another.
to reduce to a level or to practicable degrees of inclination: to grade a road.
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.
to incline; slant or slope: The road grades steeply for a mile.
to be of a particular grade or quality.
to pass by degrees from one color or shade to another; blend: See how the various colors grade into one another.
Verb Phrases
grade up,to improve (a herd, flock, etc.) by breeding with purebreds.
Idioms for grade
at grade,
on the same level: A railroad crosses a highway at grade.
(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.
make the grade, to attain a specific goal; succeed: He'll never make the grade in medical school.
up to grade, of the desired or required quality: This shipment is not up to grade.
Origin of grade
First recorded in 1505–15; from French: “office,” from Latin gradus “step, stage, degree,” derivative of gradī “to go, step, walk”
SYNONYMS FOR grade
13 classify, rank, rate, order, categorize.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR grade ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM grade
mis·grade,verb,mis·grad·ed,mis·grad·ing.mis·grad·ed,adjectivemul·ti·grade,adjectiveo·ver·grade,verb (used with object),o·ver·grad·ed,o·ver·grad·ing.
pre·grade,verb (used with object),pre·grad·ed,pre·grad·ing,nounre·grade,verb (used with object),re·grad·ed,re·grad·ing.un·grad·ed,adjectivewell-graded,adjective
Definition for grade (2 of 2)
-grade
a combining form meaning “walking, moving,” in the manner or by the means specified by the initial element: plantigrade.
Origin of -grade
<Latin -gradus, combining form representing gradus step or gradī to walk. See grade, gradient
a position or degree in a scale, as of quality, rank, size, or progressionsmall-grade eggs; high-grade timber
a group of people or things of the same category
mainlyUSa military or other rank
a stage in a course of progression
a mark or rating indicating achievement or the worth of work done, as at school
US and Canadiana unit of pupils of similar age or ability taught together at school
US and Canadian
a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
Also called: gradienta measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a right angle or 0.9 degree
stockbreeding
an animal with one purebred parent and one of unknown or unimproved breeding
category, classification, degree, level, standard, quality, class, condition, size, classify, division, caliber, group, estate, form, league, notch, brand, gradation, mark
Scientific definitions for grade
grade
[ grād ]
The degree of inclination of a slope, road, or other surface.
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. Compare clade.