grave

grave

I

grave¹ /ɡreɪv/ noun [countable]1. the place in the ground where a dead body is buried ⇨ tomb:
    At the head of the grave there was a small wooden cross.
2. the grave literary death:
    He took that secret to the grave.
3. somebody would turn in their grave used to say that someone who is dead would strongly disapprove of something happening now:
    The way Bill plays that piece would have Mozart turning in his grave.
⇨ dig your own grave at dig¹(8), ⇨ from (the) cradle to (the) grave at cradle¹(3), ⇨ have one foot in the grave at foot¹(24), ⇨ silent as the grave at silent(3), ⇨ a watery grave at watery(4)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ dig a grave In the churchyard, a man was digging a grave.
   ▪ mark a grave The stone marked the grave of their young daughter.
   ▪ bury somebody in a grave (=put someone in a grave) She was buried in a grave next to her older sister.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + grave
   ▪ a shallow grave (=a hole that is not very deep in the ground) They found the woman’s remains in a shallow grave in the woods.
   ▪ a mass grave (=one that is filled with many people, especially people killed in a war or people who died of a disease at a similar time) Plague victims were buried in a mass grave.
   ▪ an unmarked grave (=one that does not have anything to show where it is or who is in it) Until 1855, poor people here were buried in unmarked graves.
   ▪ a family grave (=one where members of a family are buried together) Walter died in 1922 and was buried in the family grave in Finchley cemetery.
   ▪ an open grave (=one that has not yet been covered in earth) He wept by her open grave.
■ grave + NOUN
   ▪ a grave site (=the place where a grave is) The President visited the grave sites of 12 youths killed in recent bombings.

II

grave² adjective
1. grave problems, situations, or worries are very great or bad ⇨ serious:
    Matthew’s life is in grave danger.
    The report expressed grave concern over the technicians’ lack of training.
    I have grave doubts about his ability.
    The situation is becoming very grave.
  REGISTER
    In everyday English, people usually use serious rather than grave, and seriously rather than gravely:
   ▪ I have serious doubts about whether he’s up to the job.
   ▪ I’m seriously worried about her.
2. looking or sounding quiet and serious, especially because something important or worrying has happened
   SYN  sombre:
    Turnbull’s face was grave as he told them about the accident.
—gravely adverb:
    Adam nodded gravely.
    We are gravely concerned (=very concerned) about these developments.
⇨ gravity

III

grave³ /ɡrɑːv/ adjective
a grave accent is a mark put above a letter in some languages such as French to show the pronunciation, for example è ⇨ acute, circumflex