I. grade 1 S2 W3 AC /ɡreɪd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ grade ; noun : ↑ grade ; adjective : ↑ graded ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin gradus 'step, degree' ]
1 . STANDARD a particular level of quality that a product, material etc has:
The best grades of tea are expensive.
industrial grade diamonds
high/low grade
low grade products
2 . RANK a particular level of job:
There are lots of jobs in junior grades.
3 . MARK IN SCHOOL a mark that a student is given for their work or for an examination:
He got a grade A in maths.
Tim worked hard and got good grades.
4 . make the grade to succeed or reach the necessary standard:
What does it take to make the grade as a top golfer?
5 . SCHOOL YEAR one of the 12 years that students are at school in the American school system, or the students in a particular year ⇨ year
second/eleventh etc grade
My brother is in sixth grade.
a fifth-grade teacher
6 . SLOPE American English a slope or a degree of slope, especially in a road or railway SYN gradient British English
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ adjectives
▪ good
If you study hard, you get good grades, and you get into good schools.
▪ bad
If you get a bad grade, Mrs. Miller will help you until you can do better.
▪ high
She got high grades in all her science subjects.
▪ low
These boys receive low grades because they fail to turn in assignments.
▪ the top grade
Ted got the top grade in his A-level maths exam.
■ grade + NOUN
▪ grade A/B/C etc. BrE:
Applicants must have Grade A, B, or C in two GCSE subjects.
■ verbs
▪ get a grade
He had always gotten good grades.
▪ achieve a grade BrE:
Rick had achieved good exam grades.
II. grade 2 AC BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ grade ; noun : ↑ grade ; adjective : ↑ graded ]
1 . to say what level of a quality something has, or what standard it is
grade something according to something
Pencils are graded according to softness.
All the parks are regularly checked and graded by tourist board inspectors.
2 . especially American English to give a mark to an examination paper or to a piece of school work SYN mark :
Ted is grading papers in his office.
3 . to give a particular rank and level of pay to a job