grave

Other forms: gravest; graved; graving

A grave is the place where a body is buried. Usually, a grave is dug in the ground, and a stone with information about the deceased person marks its location.

Grave is used as an adjective, too. It can describe something serious, or of great importance. If a situation is grave, it is serious and sad, like when a loved one is very sick. Grave can also refer to something that causes fear or anxiety. If you are in grave danger, your personal safety is threatened. If you have a grave personality, you are solemn and dignified and don't joke around very much.

Definitions of grave

1. noun

   a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
   “he put flowers on his mother's grave”

   synonyms: tomb

   types:

   burial chamber, sepulcher, sepulchre, sepulture

   a chamber that is used as a grave

   mastaba, mastabah

   an ancient Egyptian mud-brick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof

   crypt

   a cellar or vault or underground burial chamber (especially beneath a church)

   mausoleum

   a large burial chamber, usually above ground

   monument, repository

   a burial vault (usually for some famous person)

   burial vault, vault

   a burial chamber (usually underground)

   type of:

   place, spot, topographic point

   a point located with respect to surface features of some region
2. noun

   death of a person
   “he went to his grave without forgiving me”

   “from cradle to grave”

   type of:

   death, demise, dying

   the time when something ends
3. adjective

   of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought
   “grave responsibilities”

   “faced a grave decision in a time of crisis”

   synonyms: grievous, heavy, weighty

   important, of import

   of great significance or value
4. adjective

   causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm
   “a grave situation”

   “a grave illness”

   synonyms: dangerous, grievous, life-threatening, serious, severe

   critical

   being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency
5. adjective

   dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
   synonyms: sedate, sober, solemn

   serious

   concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
6. verb

   shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it
   synonyms: sculpt, sculpture

   sculpt, sculpture

   create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material

   type of:

   carve

   form by carving
7. verb

   carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
   synonyms: engrave, inscribe, scratch

   engrave, etch

   carve or cut a design or letters into

   types:

   character

   engrave or inscribe characters on

   type of:

   carve, chip at

   engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface