ENGLISH
REFERENCE

gross

n.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈɡɹoʊs// UK //ɡɹˈəʊs// gross Archaic Informal Literary

n. very unpleasant, disgusting, or rude. You use this to describe things that make you feel sick or things that are very impolite.

n. unpleasant, repulsive, or socially unacceptable. Informal in register; frequently used as an exclamation of disgust in colloquial speech.


SIMPLE

That old food in the fridge smells gross.

CONTEXTUAL

The children thought the slimy worms were gross, but the teacher explained how they help the garden grow.

COMPLEX

While the film was praised for its artistic direction, many critics found the graphic violence to be gratuitously gross and unnecessary for the plot.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

* As a Jewish and German surname, from groß (“great, large”). The Jewish surname was influenced by Hebrew גדול (“big, large”), hence the Hebraicization Gadol. * As an English surname, from the noun and adjective gross, a doublet of above. The village is named after Ben Gross, who kept a general store there.

Usage

Commonly used as a predicative adjective after linking verbs like 'be', 'look', or 'smell'.

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