gravel
/ˈɡɹævəl/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms gravels graveling gravelling graveled gravelled
- noun (uncountable) Small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast.
- noun A type or grade of small rocks, differentiated by mineral type, size range, or other characteristics.
- noun (uncountable, geology) A particle from 2 to 64 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
- noun (uncountable, archaic) Kidney stones, or nephrolithiasis
- noun A lameness in the foot of a horse, usually caused by an abscess.
- noun (rare) Inability to see at night; night blindness.
- noun (uncountable, cycling) Gravel cycling, a discipline in cycling different from road cycling, mountain biking or cyclocross, for a large part on gravel roads, typically with a dedicated gravel bike.
- noun (slang) The stimulant drug alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone.
- verb (transitive) To apply a layer of gravel to the surface of a road, etc.
- verb (transitive) To puzzle or annoy.
- verb (ambitransitive) To run (as a ship) upon the gravel or beach; to run aground; to (cause to) be grounded in gravel or sand.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To hurt or lame (a horse) by gravel or similar material lodged between the shoe and foot.
- verb (transitive, slang, archaic) To prostrate; to beat to the ground.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
chisel chessil stones gallstones crushed rock annoy rag get to bother get at irritate rile nark nettle vex chafe devil perplex stick get puzzle mystify baffle beat pose bewilder flummox stupefy nonplus amaze
Etymology
From Middle English gravel, grauel, from Old French gravele, diminutive of grave (“gravel, seashore”), from Medieval Latin grava, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *grāwā (“gravel, pebbles”) (compare Breton groa, Cornish grow, Welsh gro), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰroh₁weh₂, from *gʰreh₁w- (“to grind”). Compare also Old English græfa (“coal”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Small stones, or fragments of stone; very small pebbles, often intermixed with particles of sand.
- noun A deposit of small calculous concretions in the kidneys and the urinary or gall bladder; also, the disease of which they are a symptom. Gravel powder, a coarse gunpowder; pebble powder.
- verb To cover with gravel; as, to gravel a walk.
- verb To run (as a ship) upon the gravel or beach; to run aground; to cause to stick fast in gravel or sand.
Etymology [OF. gravele, akin to F. grve a sandy shore, strand; of Celtic origin; cf. Armor. grouan gravel, W. gro coarse gravel, pebbles, and Skr. gravan stone.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gravel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details