- 1 the quality of a particular product or material All the materials used were of the highest grade. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehigh, top, low, … See full entry
- 2 a level of ability or rank that somebody has in an organization salary grades (= levels of pay) She's still only on a secretarial grade. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehigh, senior, junior, … prepositionat a/the… grade, on a/the… grade See full entry
- 3 a mark given in an exam or for a piece of school work (British English) She got good grades in her exams. (North American English) She got good grades on her exams. 70% of pupils got Grade C or above. Wordfinderexamcandidate, exam, grade, invigilate, mark, oral, paper, practical, resit, revise Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefinal, A, B, … verb + gradeachieve, attain, earn, … phrasesgrade point average See full entry See related entries: Exams and assessment, Teaching and learning
- 4 (in the US school system) one of the levels in a school with children of similar age Sam is in (the) second grade. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivesixth, third, etc., … verb + gradeenter, start, complete, … grade + nounlevel, school prepositionin… grade See full entry See related entries: Teaching and learning, School life
- 5(specialist) how serious an illness is low/high grade fever
- 6(especially North American English) = gradient (1)
- 7(British English) a level of exam in musical skill grade 6 piano Word Originearly 16th cent.: from French, or from Latin gradus ‘step’. Originally used as a unit of measurement of angles (a degree of arc), the term later referred to degrees of merit or quality.Extra examples He skipped a grade so he finished high school early. He still wants to play top grade football. I need to improve my grades. My daughter is in (the) fifth grade. My son will be starting third grade this fall. She got a failing grade for that assignment. She was offered a job at a lower grade. The majority of staff are on the same grade. The oral exam constitutes 10% of the final grade. You’ve maintained a 3.9 grade point average. a piece of high grade building land an A-grade essay large pay increases for senior grades low grade steel the people on management grades Grade A beef He moved up three grades in just a year. She’s still only on a secretarial grade. The higher grades within the organization usually get bigger pay rises. The hill has a grade of 25%. These topics are suitable for seventh grade. We hiked up a short steep grade. a piece of top grade beefIdioms
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ɡreɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ɡreɪd//
Exams and assessment, Teaching and learning, School life(informal) to reach the necessary standard; to succeed About 10% of trainees fail to make the grade.
Check pronunciation: grade
