gravy
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a warm, thick sauce made from the juices that come out of meat while it is cooking.
n.a sauce made from the juices, fat, and sediment that remain in a pan after meat has been roasted or fried, typically thickened with flour.
Simple“He poured a lot of hot gravy over his roast beef and mashed potatoes.”
In context“The chef deglazed the roasting pan with red wine to incorporate the caramelised juices into a rich, savoury gravy.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
n.extra money or a benefit that you get easily or unexpectedly.
n.unearned or incidental gain; profit or benefits obtained beyond what is expected or required.
Simple“The salary is good, and the yearly bonus is just gravy.”
In context“Having already exceeded their quarterly sales targets, any additional commissions earned in December were considered pure gravy by the sales team.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the spicy liquid or sauce part of a curry dish.
n.the liquid base or sauce component of a curry, particularly in South Asian culinary contexts.
Simple“This chicken curry has a very rich and spicy gravy.”
In context“The recipe requires the onions to be sautéed until golden brown to ensure the gravy has a deep, complex flavour profile.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
v.to make a sauce from meat juices.
v.to prepare or produce gravy from meat drippings.
Simple“She spent the afternoon roasting the turkey and gravying the juices.”
In context“The kitchen staff were tasked with gravying the remaining drippings before the final course was served to the guests.”
From Middle English gravey, greavie, gravy; probably from greaves, graves (“the sediment of melted tallow”), or from Old French grave, a claimed misspelling of grané (“stew, spice”), from grain (“spice”). Sense of "pasta sauce" apparently seems to be from Italian dialect, especially Calabrian, differentiating tomato puree (salsa (“sauce”)) from cooked tomato sauce (sugo).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.