How to pronounce grave
Say it like GRAYV. Grave is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce grave. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- GRAYV
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Grave pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- GRAYVSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of grave
American and British speakers say grave in essentially the same way: /ɡreɪv/ in the US and /ɡreɪv/ in the UK.
British respelling: GRAYV.
What does grave mean?
- death of a person“he went to his grave without forgiving me”“from cradle to grave”
- a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)“he put flowers on his mother's grave”
- a mark (`) placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation
- dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises“a grave God-fearing man”“a quiet sedate nature”
- causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm“a dangerous operation”“a grave situation”
- of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought“grave responsibilities”“faced a grave decision in a time of crisis”
- shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it“She is sculpting the block of marble into an image of her husband”
- carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface“engrave a pen”“engraved the trophy cup with the winner's name”
Where does grave come from?
From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”).
Words that rhyme with grave
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of grave.
Questions about saying grave
How do you pronounce grave?
Say GRAYV. The American pronunciation is /ɡreɪv/. In British English it is /ɡreɪv/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in grave?
Grave is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: GRAYV.
Do Americans and Brits say grave the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ɡreɪv/ and the British form is /ɡreɪv/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.