/grayd/ , n. , v. , graded, grading .
n.
1. a degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity: the best grade of paper.
2. a class of persons or things of the same relative rank, quality, etc.
3. a step or stage in a course or process.
4. a single division of a school classified according to the age or progress of the pupils. In the U.S., public schools are commonly divided into twelve grades below college.
5. the pupils in such a division.
6. grades , elementary school (usually prec. by the ): He first began teaching in the grades.
7. a letter, number, or other symbol indicating the relative quality of a student's work in a course, examination, or special assignment; mark.
8. a classification or standard of food based on quality, size, etc.: grade A milk.
9. inclination with the horizontal of a road, railroad, etc., usually expressed by stating the vertical rise or fall as a percentage of the horizontal distance; slope.
10. Building Trades. Also called grade line . the level at which the ground intersects the foundation of a building.
11. an animal resulting from a cross between a parent of ordinary stock and one of a pure breed.
12. Math. grad 2 .
13. at grade ,
a. on the same level: A railroad crosses a highway at grade.
b. (of a stream bed) so adjusted to conditions of slope and the volume and speed of water that no gain or loss of sediment takes place.
14. make the grade , to attain a specific goal; succeed: He'll never make the grade in medical school.
15. up to grade , of the desired or required quality: This shipment is not up to grade.
v.t.
16. to arrange in a series of grades; class; sort: a machine that grades two thousand eggs per hour.
17. to determine the grade of.
18. to assign a grade to (a student's work); mark: I graded forty tests last night.
19. to cause to pass by degrees, as from one color or shade to another.
20. to reduce to a level or to practicable degrees of inclination: to grade a road.
21. to cross (an ordinary or low-grade animal) with an animal of a pure or superior breed.
v.i.
22. to incline; slant or slope: The road grades steeply for a mile.
23. to be of a particular grade or quality.
24. to pass by degrees from one color or shade to another; blend: See how the various colors grade into one another.
25. grade up , to improve (a herd, flock, etc.) by breeding with purebreds.
[ 1505-15; gradus step, stage, degree, deriv. of gradi to go, step, walk ]
Syn. 16. classify, rank, rate, order, categorize.