grade
(greɪd)
n., v. grad•ed, grad•ing. n. 1. a degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity.
2. a class of persons or things of the same relative rank, quality, etc.
3. a step or stage in a course or process.
4. a single division of a school classified, usu. by year.
5. the pupils in such a division.
6. grades, elementary school (usu. prec. by the).
7. a letter, number, or other symbol indicating the relative quality of a student's work; mark.
8. a classification or standard of food based on quality, size, etc.: grade A milk.
9. inclination with the horizontal of a road, railroad, etc.; slope.
10. the level at which the ground intersects the foundation of a building.
11. an animal resulting from a cross between a parent of ordinary stock and one of a pure breed.
v.t. 12. to arrange in a series of grades; class; sort: a machine that grades eggs.
13. to determine the grade of.
14. to assign a grade to (a student's work); mark.
15. to cause to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another.
16. to reduce to a level or to practicable degrees of inclination: to grade a road.
17. to cross (an ordinary or low-grade animal) with an animal of a pure or superior breed.
v.i. 18. to incline; slant or slope.
19. to be of a particular grade or quality.
20. to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another; blend.
Idioms: 1. at grade, on the same level: a railroad crossing a highway at grade.
2. make the grade, to attain a specific goal; succeed.
3. up to grade, of the desired or required quality.
[1505–15; < French: office < Latin gradus step, stage, degree, derivative of gradī to go, step, walk]
grad′a•ble, adj.
-grade
a combining form meaning “walking, moving,” in the manner or by the means specified by the initial element: plantigrade.
[< Latin
-gradus, comb. form representing
gradus step or
gradī to walk. See
grade,
gradient]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.