groom
/ɡruːm
/verb [with object]
1Brush and clean the coat of (a horse, dog, or other animal): the horses were groomed and taken to shows...
- Angie began to groom the horse's coat the best she could through the blurry vision that took over her eyesight.
- Brush or groom your dog at least once a week and use this time to check his body for unusual bumps, lumps or sores.
- They were grooming a palomino, quiffing up his mane and tying it with a red ribbon.
Synonyms
curry, brush, comb, rub, rub down
1.1(Of an animal) clean the fur or skin of (itself or another animal): their main preoccupation is licking and grooming themselves...
- A few paces away the cat sat grooming himself.
- But when we put the camera on the lion in Kenya, the lion actually groomed itself and cleaned the camera lens for us.
- They noted that the mutant mice groomed themselves excessively-to the extent of creating bald spots and skin wounds.
1.2 (often as adjective groomed) Give a neat and tidy appearance to (someone): [with submodifier]: a beautifully groomed woman (as noun grooming) she pays great attention to grooming and clothes...
- Their hair was always the optimum length and beautifully groomed.
- With his neat Savile Row pinstripe suit and beautifully groomed hair, he looks more like an English aristocrat than one of the biggest players in the petrochemicals business.
- In the restaurant this morning, their neat, groomed creator chooses a well-organised breakfast of fruit followed by poached eggs.
Synonyms
brush, comb, smooth, do, dress, arrange, adjust, put in order, tidy, make tidy, spruce up, smarten up, preen, primp, freshen up
informal fix
1.3Look after (a lawn, ski slope, or other surface): groom your lawn—keep the grass cut...
- Infused with a sense of nostalgic charm, Chapman's caricatures evoke tearooms, groomed lawns, corrugated iron and lamingtons.
- Waiting hopefully outside on the well - groomed lawn, they were both rewarded by his careful emergence through the back screen door.
- Snowboarding is banned, but carefully groomed slopes and beginner and intermediate runs over 65 percent of the area offer easy skiing.
2Prepare or train (someone) for a particular purpose or activity: star pupils who are groomed for higher things...
- They will need to be against an Abbeyside team being groomed for glory on the back of outstanding Under-21 and minor success.
- After being spotted at a karate competition in 1964, he was groomed for a spin-off from the series.
- Should the writer ease onto the page, as if he were groomed for it?
Synonyms
prepare, prime, make ready, ready, condition, tailor;
coach, train, instruct, tutor, drill, teach, educate, school
2.1(Of a paedophile) prepare (a child) for a meeting, especially via an Internet chat room, with the intention of committing a sexual offence.
noun
1A person employed to take care of horses.The Stakes will include $830 for the groom of the winning horse....
- Dante and I went back to the stables and the grooms put up our horses.
- Incidentally, owners tended to employ horsemen or grooms who were on the short side as that made their charges look so much bigger and farmers always liked to see a big stallion.
Synonyms
stable hand, stableman, stable lad, stable boy, stable girl
historical equerry
2A bridegroom.The proud groom is a graduate of the University of Texas....
- The groom is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
- The groom is a graduate of Barry University; he is a police officer for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Synonyms
bridegroom, new husband, husband-to-be;
newly-married man, newly-wed
3British Any of various officials of the royal household.
Derivatives
groomer
- Up bright and early next day, we discover to our relief that the expert piste groomers have done a wonderful job and practically everything is skiable and do-able.
- Frederik and the groomers are traditional Damara people and sing church songs and harmonic lullabies as they tend to the horses.
- Dog groomers from Keighley had reason to smile when they scooped two first prizes at a prestigious event.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'boy', later 'man, male servant'): of unknown origin.