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¹grade

noun \ˈgrād\

: a level of study that is completed by a student during one year

: the students in the same year of study at a school

: a number or letter that indicates how a student performed in a class or on a test

Full Definition of GRADE

a (1) : a position in a scale of ranks or qualities (2) : a stage in a process

b : a degree of severity in illness <grade III carcinoma>

c : a class organized for the work of a particular year of a school course

d : a military or naval rank

a : a class of things of the same stage or degree

b : a mark indicating a degree of accomplishment in school

c : a standard of food quality

a : the degree of inclination of a road or slope; also : a sloping road

b : a datum or reference level; especially : ground level

: a domestic animal with one parent purebred and the other of inferior breeding

plural : the elementary school system

— grade·less \-ləs\ adjective

See grade defined for English-language learners

Origin of GRADE

Latin gradus step, degree, from Latin gradi to step, go; akin to Lithuanian gridyti to go, wander

First Known Use: 1526

Related to GRADE

Synonyms: chapter, cut, degree, inch, notch, peg, phase, place, point, stage, step

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

Rhymes with GRADE

Ade, aid, aide, blade, braid, cade, clade, fade, glade, jade, lade, made, maid, paid, raid, rayed, shade, spade, stade, staid, suede, trade, wade

²grade

verb

: to give a grade to (a student or a student's work)

: to give a rating to (something)

: to separate (things) into groups or classes according to a particular quality

grad·edgrad·ing

Full Definition of GRADE

transitive verb

a : to arrange in grades : sort

b : to arrange in a scale or series

c : to assign to a grade or assign a grade to

: to level off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface

intransitive verb

a : to form a series

b : blend

: to be of a particular grade

— grad·able \ˈgrā-də-bəl\ adjective

See grade defined for English-language learners

See grade defined for kids

First Known Use of GRADE

1659

Related to GRADE

Synonyms: assort, break down, categorize, class, codify, compartment, compartmentalize, digest, distinguish, distribute, classify, group, peg, place, range, rank, relegate, separate, sort, type

³grade

adjective

Definition of GRADE

: being, involving, or yielding domestic animals of improved but not pure stock <grade ewes> <grade breeding>

First Known Use of GRADE

1852

GRADES Defined for Kids

¹grade

noun \ˈgrād\

Definition of GRADE for Kids

: a division of a school course representing a year's work <He's in the fourth grade.>

: the group of pupils in a school grade <Fifth grade is holding a bake sale.>

: a mark or rating especially in school <I got a grade of A on the test.>

: a position in a scale of rank, quality, or order <a social grade>

: a class of things that are of the same rank, quality, or order <A … hide was worth from four to ten dollars, depending on the grade and quality. — Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows>

: the degree of slope (as of a road)

Word Root of GRADE

The Latin word gradus, meaning “step” or “degree,” gives us the root grad. Words from the Latin gradus have something to do with steps. Anything gradual happens slowly one step at a time. To degrade is to reduce from a higher to a lower degree. A grade is a step in school made up of one year of work. Even the word degree itself has gradus as its root.