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groom

n. · v.
US //ˈɡɹum// UK //ɡɹˈuːm// groom
  1. 1 wedding (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    a man on his wedding day or just before it.

    a man who is about to be married or has just been married.

    Example

    The groom looked very nervous as he waited for the bride to arrive.

    Example

    The groom stood at the altar, adjusting his tie while his best man offered a few quiet words of encouragement.
  2. 2 horse caretaker (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a person whose job is to take care of horses.

    a person employed to tend, feed, and clean horses.

    Example

    The groom spent the morning brushing the horses and cleaning the stables.

    Example

    After the race, the head groom checked the stallion's hooves and ensured it was properly cooled down before returning to the stall.
    • stable hand
    • ostler
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  1. 3 to clean an animal (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to clean and brush an animal, like a dog or a horse.

    to clean and maintain the coat of an animal by brushing or washing.

    Example

    You should groom your dog regularly to keep its fur healthy and shiny.

    Example

    Professional handlers groom their show dogs for hours to ensure every hair is perfectly in place before the competition begins.
  2. 4 to prepare someone (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to prepare someone for a specific job or a high position in the future.

    to prepare or train someone for a particular purpose, activity, or professional role.

    Example

    The company is grooming her to take over as the next manager.

    Example

    The senator had been grooming his daughter for a political career since she graduated from law school.
  3. 5 personal hygiene (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to clean yourself and make your hair and clothes look neat.

    to attend to one's own personal appearance and hygiene.

    Example

    He spent a long time in the bathroom grooming himself before the big date.

    Example

    The cat spent the entire afternoon grooming itself on the sunny windowsill, meticulously licking its paws and fur.
  4. 6 predatory behavior (v.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Law

    to build a relationship with a younger person to trick or hurt them later.

    to establish a trusting emotional connection with a minor or vulnerable person with the intent of sexual exploitation.

    Example

    The police warned parents about how criminals use social media to groom children.

    Example

    The prosecution argued that the defendant used online forums to groom several victims over a period of many months before meeting them in person.

Etymology 1

1604, short for bridegroom (“husband-to-be”), from Middle English brydgrome, alteration (with intrusive r) of earlier bridegome (“bridegroom”), from Old English brȳdguma (“bridegroom”), from brȳd (“bride”) + guma (“man, hero”). In Middle English, the second element was re-analyzed as or influenced by grom, grome (“attendant”). Guma derives from Proto-Germanic gumô (“man, person”), from Proto-Indo-European dʰǵʰm̥mō; it is cognate to Icelandic gumi (cf. Icelandic brúðgumi) and Norwegian gume and, ultimately, human.

Etymology 2

From Middle English grom, grome (“man-child, boy, youth”), of uncertain origin. Apparently related to Middle Dutch grom (“boy”), Old Icelandic grómr, gromr (“man, manservant, boy”), Old French gromme (“manservant”), and also to Middle Dutch grom (“fish guts”), Middle Low German grôm (“fish guts”), from the same Proto-Germanic root. Possibly from Old English grōm, from Proto-West Germanic grōm (“swollen belly, stomach tumour, womb-child, fish roe, fish guts”), from Proto-Germanic *grōaną (“to grow”). Alternative etymology describes Middle English grom, grome as an alteration of gome (“man”) with an intrusive r (also found in bridegroom, hoarse, cartridge, etc.), with the Middle Dutch and Old Icelandic cognates following similar variation of their respective forms.

Word family

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