/ greɪd; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
the quality of a particular product or material :
All the materials used were of the highest grade.
2.
a level of ability or rank that sb has in an organization :
salary grades (= levels of pay)
She's still only on a secretarial grade.
3.
a mark given in an exam or for a piece of school work :
( BrE )
She got good grades in her exams.
( NAmE )
She got good grades on her exams.
70% of pupils got Grade C or above.
4.
(in the US school system) one of the levels in a school with children of similar age :
Sam is in (the) second grade.
5.
( technical ) how serious an illness is :
low / high grade fever
6.
( especially NAmE ) = gradient
7.
( BrE ) a level of exam in musical skill
•
IDIOMS
- make the grade
■ verb
1.
grade sth/sb (by / according to sth) | grade sth (as sth) [ often passive ] to arrange people or things in groups according to their ability, quality, size, etc. :
[ vn ]
The containers are graded according to size.
Eggs are graded from small to extra large
Responses were graded from 1 (very satisfied) to 5 (not at all satisfied).
[ vn - adj ]
Ten beaches were graded as acceptable.
2.
( especially NAmE ) to give a mark / grade to a student or to a piece of their written work :
[ vn ]
I spent all weekend grading papers.
[ vn - n ]
The best students are graded A.
—compare mark
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 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.