Gross — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb noun /ˈgrōs/

Meaning & Definition of Gross

Gross (adjective)

  1. glaringly noticeable usually because of inexcusable badness or objectionableness
  2. out-and-out, utter
  3. visible without the aid of a microscope

Gross (verb)

  1. to earn or bring in (an overall total) exclusive of deductions (as for taxes or expenses)

Gross (noun)

  1. overall total exclusive of deductions
  2. amount, sum
  3. an aggregate of 12 dozen things

Gross (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society

    "he was thrown out of class for making a gross gesture"

    similar: bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gutter, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, locker-room, nasty, obscene, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated
    related: broad, coarse-grained, gamy, off, off-color, racy, risqué, salacious, salty, suggestive, barnyard, earthy, scatological, immodest, indecorous, indelicate, low, unbecoming, depraved, kinky, louche, naughty, perverse, perverted, wicked, exceptionable, objectionable, unacceptable, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome, abhorrent, debasing, disgusting, loathsome, offensive, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, distasteful, obnoxious, unpleasant, blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible, atrocious, infamous, abusive, scurrilous, hard-core, soft, soft-core
    opposite: clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, wholesome
    near: priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced, Victorian, correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly, innocuous, inoffensive, acceptable, agreeable, desirable, pleasant, pleasing, welcome, appropriate, becoming, fit, meet, suitable, immaculate, perfect, pure, spotless, virginal, approved, endorsed, sanctioned

  2. having an excess of body fat

    "a very gross cat trying to squeeze through a small opening in the fence"

    similar: blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fat, fleshy, full, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, podgy (chiefly British), portly, pudgy, replete, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby
    related: beefy, bulky, chunky, heavy, heavyset, plumpish, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty, brawny, burly, hefty, husky, dumpy, squat, stubby, hippy, paunchy, potbellied, flabby, soft, ample, buxom, corn-fed, ripe, zaftig, endomorphic
    opposite: lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin
    near: angular, bony, gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, puny, scraggy, scrawny, slight, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, ectomorphic, anorexic

  3. lacking in refinement or good taste

    "she haughtily refused to mix with what she called the gross masses who are unappreciative of fine art"

    similar: coarse, common, crass, crude, ill-bred, illiberal (archaic), incult, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, roughneck, rude, rugged, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar
    related: boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly, clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish, inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless, countrified, provincial, rustic, unsophisticated, graceless, inelegant, tacky, animallike, barbaric, barbarous, uncivilized, mannerless, unmannered, unmannerly
    opposite: civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred
    near: aristocratic, courtly, patrician, elegant, graceful, restrained, considerate, gracious, sensitive, thoughtful, citified, sophisticated, urbane

  4. very noticeable especially for being incorrect or bad

    "a gross mistake that some proofreader should have caught"

    similar: blatant, conspicuous, egregious, flagrant, glaring, obvious, patent, pronounced, rank, striking
    related: arresting, clear, distinct, dramatic, emphatic, evident, eye-catching, marked, notable, noticeable, outstanding, plain, prominent, remarkable, salient, showy, splashy, absolute, arrant, downright, out-and-out, outright, sheer, stark, utter, detectable, discernible, observable, perceptible, visible, abominable, atrocious, awful, deplorable, execrable, heinous, lousy, monstrous, outrageous, preposterous, shameful, shocking, terrible, wretched
    near: imperceptible, inconspicuous, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, slight, small, trifling, trivial, concealed, hidden, invisible

  5. causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment

    "the little boy insisted that worms are gross"

    similar: abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, rancid, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening, ugly
    related: exceptionable, objectionable, brackish, disagreeable, dislikable, unpleasant, contemptible, despicable, detestable, hard, hateful, unhealthy, unsavory, unwholesome, execrable, lousy, miserable, atrocious, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome, heinous, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish, sick, sickish, sickly, terrible, unspeakable, vile, off-putting, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome, barbarous, unchristian, uncivilized, ungodly, unholy, distressing, disturbing, upsetting
    opposite: innocuous, inoffensive
    near: acceptable, agreeable, alluring, appealing, attractive, blessed, congenial, darling, delectable, delicious, delightful, delightsome, desirable, dreamy, dulcet, enjoyable, felicitous, gratifying, heavenly, inviting, likable, luscious, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, savory, sweet, welcome, unexceptionable, unobjectionable, healthful, healthy, restorative, salubrious, salutary, wholesome

Gross (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in amount, total

    similar: amount, sum, total, whole, score, recount, census, count, tale, tally

  2. as in revenue, income

    similar: earnings, gain, income, net, payoff, proceeds, profit, receipts, return, revenue, winnings, bag, booty, loot, plunder, spoils, swag, bounty, catch, haul, take, yield, appropriation, collection
    opposite: deduction, loss, subtraction

Gross (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in clear, net

    similar: clear, net, acquire, attain, bag, bring in, capture, carry, come by, draw, earn, gain, garner, get, knock down, land, make, obtain, procure, pull down, realize, reap, secure, win, accomplish, achieve, notch (up), score, accumulate, amass, rack up, catch, pick up, annex, occupy, take over, reacquire, reattain, recapture, regain, remake
    opposite: forfeit, lose, accord, give, grant, pay, give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield

Related Entry: Gross out (verb)

Gross out is a different word from Gross. The synonyms below are for gross out, not for gross.

  1. to cause to feel disgust

    "that dead frog in our driveway grosses me out—can you get rid of it?"

    similar: disgust, nauseate, put off, repel, repulse, revolt, sicken, turn off, turn one's stomach
    related: displease, distress, appall, disquiet, horrify, affront, insult, offend, outrage, shock
    near: allure, attract, beguile, bewitch, captivate, charm, disarm, draw, enchant, entice, fascinate, lure, pull, seduce, tempt, delight, gratify, please, rejoice, tickle, enrapture, enthrall, entrance, appeal (to), interest, intrigue

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Gross

The most common words with a similar meaning to Gross:

Chiefly British: podgy
Archaic: illiberal
bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gutter, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, locker-room, nasty, obscene, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated, blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fat, fleshy, full, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, portly, pudgy, replete

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Gross

Words with the opposite meaning of Gross:

clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, wholesome, lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin, civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred, innocuous, inoffensive, deduction, loss, subtraction, forfeit, lose, accord, give

Related Words for Gross

broad, coarse-grained, gamy, off, off-color, racy, risqué, salacious, salty, suggestive, barnyard, earthy, scatological, immodest, indecorous, indelicate, unbecoming, depraved, kinky, louche, naughty, perverse, perverted, wicked, exceptionable, objectionable, unacceptable, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome

Near Antonyms of Gross

priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced, Victorian, correct, decorous, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly, acceptable, agreeable, desirable, pleasant, pleasing, welcome, appropriate, becoming, fit, meet, suitable, immaculate, perfect, pure, spotless, virginal

Word Forms of Gross

Inflections: grossed, grossing, grosses

Derived words: grossly (adverb), grossness (noun), grosser (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Gross

Middle English grosse, groce "large, thick, coarse, not in detail, plain," borrowed from Anglo-French gros, grosse "large, great, fat, pregnant, important, (of flour, salt) coarse" (also continental Old French), going back to Latin grossus "thick," "unripe," of uncertain origin

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Gross

Words & Phrases Containing Gross

gross anatomy, gross domestic product, gross national product, gross-out, gross out

Frequently Asked Questions about Gross

What does "Gross" mean?

"Gross" means glaringly noticeable usually because of inexcusable badness or objectionableness. As an an adjective, a verb and a noun, it is defined as: glaringly noticeable usually because of inexcusable badness or objectionableness. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Gross"?

Other words for "Gross" include bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul and gutter. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Gross" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Gross"?

There are 347 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Gross". Common alternatives include bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gutter, impure and indecent.

What is the opposite of "Gross"?

Antonyms of "Gross" include clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, wholesome, lean, skinny and slender. Near antonyms include priggish, prim, prudish and puritanical.

How do you use "Gross" in a sentence?

Examples of "Gross" in a sentence: "he was thrown out of class for making a gross gesture"; "a very gross cat trying to squeeze through a small opening in the fence"; "she haughtily refused to mix with what she called the gross masses who are unappreciative of fine art".

Is "Gross" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Gross" can be used as an adjective, a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Gross" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Gross" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Gross"?

"Gross" is pronounced /ˈgrōs/.