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 groom's mother did a brief reading that moved him to tears. —Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Khurana accessorized with emerald jewelry by KK Jewels, while the bridal party incorporated elements of pink into their looks and the groom’s side had accents of green, to make both elements of Khurana’s outfit shine. —Alice Newbold, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2024

Verb

But the court said that prosecutors improperly provided the grand jury with a definition of grooming without expert testimony, and faulted them for withholding from the grand jury inconsistent statements made by one of his accusers. —CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024

Despite their tendency to reduce social interactions with others when sick, in vampire bats, sick mothers will continue to groom their offspring and vice versa, probably because mother-daughter relationships are extra important. —Sebastian Stockmaier, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 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