groom

1 of 2

noun

ˈgrüm  ˈgru̇m 

1

: bridegroom

2

a

: a person responsible for the feeding, exercising, and stabling of horses

b(1)

archaic : manservant

(2)

: one of several officers of the English royal household

3

archaic : man, fellow

groom

2 of 2

verb

groomed; grooming; grooms

transitive verb

1

: to clean and maintain the appearance of (an animal)

especially : to maintain the health and condition of the coat of (a horse, dog, etc.) by brushing, combing, currying, or similar attention

2

: to make neat or attractive

an impeccably groomed person

3

a

: to make (someone) ready for a specific objective : prepare

was being groomed as a presidential candidate

b

: to build a trusting relationship with (a minor) in order to exploit them especially for nonconsensual sexual activity

intransitive verb

: to groom oneself

Synonyms

Verb

• fit
• fix
• lay
• prep
• prepare
• ready

Examples of groom in a Sentence

Verb

The horses are being groomed for the competition.

She spent hours grooming herself.

She always seems to be perfectly groomed and neatly dressed.

He is being groomed to take over the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The eclipse was scheduled to begin at 11:35 a.m., so the bride, 31, and groom, 39, told their 100 guests to arrive at their wedding as early as possible in anticipation of heavy traffic and cars that may pull over on the sides of the country roads for the eclipse. —Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024

But her perfect life is violently upended on her wedding day when a group of hitmen storms the celebration, killing her groom. —Veronica Villafañe, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Verb

What comes next is impossible to know As a second son not poised to take up his father’s mantle, Assad studied ophthalmology in London until his older brother Bassel, who had been groomed to succeed Hafez, died in a car crash in 1994. —Simone McCarthy, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024

In June, the organization announced that long-time player Alexander Steen is being groomed to take over from Armstrong as general manager in 2026, and that Armstrong will remain as president of hockey operations through the 2028-29 season. —Carol Schram, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English grom

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1781, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

groom

1 of 2 noun

ˈgrüm  ˈgru̇m 

1

a

archaic : a male servant

b

: a person in charge of horses

2

: bridegroom

groom

2 of 2 verb

1

: to clean and keep up the appearance of (as the coat of a horse or dog)

2

: to make neat, attractive, or acceptable