grade
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a letter or number that shows how well you did on a test or in a class.
n.a mark indicating the quality of a student's work or performance in an examination.
Simple“She was very happy because she got an A grade on her history project.”
In context“The final grade for the semester is calculated by averaging the midterm exam results with the marks from three independent research papers.”
UsageCommonly used with 'get', 'receive', or 'give'.
- 02 A2 Elementary
n.a level of study in school, usually based on a student's age.
n.a level of primary or secondary education, typically corresponding to one academic year.
Simple“My younger brother is starting the fourth grade this September.”
In context“In the American school system, students typically enter the first grade at age six and continue through the twelfth grade before graduation.”
Teacher's tipIn British English, 'year' or 'form' is used instead of 'grade' for this meaning.
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.a particular level of quality or rank in a system.
n.a position within a scale of quality, rank, or size.
Simple“The restaurant only uses the highest grade of olive oil in its cooking.”
In context“The military officer was promoted to a higher pay grade after serving three years in the overseas division.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the steepness of a road or a hill.
n.the degree of inclination of a slope, road, or railway.
Simple“The truck struggled to climb the steep grade of the mountain road.”
In context“Engineers had to adjust the railway's grade to ensure the heavy freight trains could safely navigate the pass during icy conditions.”
- 05 B1 Intermediate
v.to give a mark to a student's test or piece of work.
v.to evaluate and assign a mark or score to academic work.
Simple“The teacher spent the whole weekend grading the students' essays.”
In context“The professor uses a strict rubric to grade the final presentations, ensuring that every student is assessed on the same criteria.”
- 06 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to arrange things into groups based on their quality or size.
v.to arrange or classify items according to a scale of quality, size, or rank.
Simple“The machines grade the eggs by weight before they are packed into boxes.”
In context“The diamonds are carefully graded based on their clarity, colour, and cut before being sent to the jewellers.”
Synonyms
Usage grade inflation
Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic graðus, from Proto-Indo-European gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”), Lithuanian gri̇̀diju (“to go, wander”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.