I. ˈgrüm, -u̇- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English grom, grome; perhaps akin to Old English grōwan to grow — more at grow
1.
a. obsolete : a young male : boy
b. archaic : an adult male : man , fellow
2.
a.
(1) archaic : a male attendant : manservant
(2) : one of several officers of the English royal household — used with a specifying phrase
served as groom of the chamber
b. : a man or boy in charge of the feeding, conditioning, and stabling of horses
3.
[by shortening]
: bridegroom
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to make presentable, acceptable, or attractive: as
a. : to attend to the cleaning of (as an animal) ; especially : to maintain the health and condition of the coat of (as a horse) by brushing, combing, currying, or similar attention
groomed the horses until their coats shone sleekly
b. : to bring about or increase the acceptability or attractiveness of (as one's physical appearance) especially by carefully attending to details of cleanliness and neatness : freshen up : spruce up
spent a long time grooming himself before he ventured out
make neat : make tidy
a carefully groomed lawn
c. : to remove crudity or other objectionable features from : make smooth or elegant : polish , refine
was master of the epigram which Wilde was later to groom for the drawing room — Maurice Edelman
d. : to get into readiness for some specific objective : ready , prepare
was being groomed as a presidential candidate
grooming players for the Olympics
intransitive verb
: to groom oneself
is said to be grooming for the top position
grooming for dinner
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
dialect England : a forked stick used by thatchers