n.
- a particular level of rank, quality, proficiency, or value.
▸Linguistics a relative position in a series of forms involving ablaut.
- a mark indicating the quality of a student's work.
▸
N. Amer. (with specifying ordinal number) those pupils in a school who are grouped by age or ability for teaching at a particular level for a year:
she teaches first grade.
- chiefly N. Amer. a gradient or slope.
- a variety of cattle produced by crossing with a superior breed.
v.
- arrange in or allocate to grades.
- chiefly N. Amer. give a mark to (a student's work).
- pass gradually from one level to another.
- reduce (a road) to an easy gradient.
- cross (livestock) with a superior breed.
Phrase
- at grade
N. Amer. on the same level. - make the grade
informal succeed.
Etymology
C16: from Fr., or from L. gradus ‘step’.