What does "graft" mean?
A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit.
Graft
/ɡɹɑːft/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit.
- Grammar: graft is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: transplant, abstraction, affix, allograft.
- Useful contrasts: detach, easy task, easy work.
- Usage evidence: Select the graft point after imagining how the branches will extend and fruit grow.
How to use "graft"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "graft" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "graft" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "graft" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "graft" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "graft" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "transplant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "graft", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit.
- 2 A ditch, a canal. obsolete
- 3 Corruption in official life. uncountable
- 4 the act of grafting something onto something else wordnet
- 5 A branch or portion of a tree growing from such a shoot.
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 The depth of the blade of a digging tool such as a spade or shovel.
"[…] in the first operation, we dug through the peat, the hard sand, and gravel, and one spade's graft (about nine inches deep, and seven inches wide) into the quick sand, the whole length of this drain,[…]"
- 7 Illicit profit by corrupt means, especially in public life. uncountable
- 8 the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage wordnet
- 9 A portion of living tissue used in the operation of autoplasty.
- 10 A narrow spade used in digging drainage trenches.
- 11 A criminal’s special branch of practice. slang, uncountable
- 12 (surgery) tissue or organ transplanted from a donor to a recipient; in some cases the patient can be both donor and recipient wordnet
- 13 A con job. countable
- 14 A cut of the take (money). countable, slang
- 15 A bribe, especially on an ongoing basis. US, uncountable
"If policemen take graft now from the liquor dealers for the privilege of keeping open on Sunday, what is to prevent them, if this bill is passed, from taking graft from the liquor men for the privilege of selling liquor before 1 p.m. on Sunday[…]?"
- 16 Work; labor requiring effort. British, colloquial, uncountable
"We had to put in a lot of hard graft to get the job done."
- 17 A job or trade. British, colloquial, countable
Verb
- 1 To insert (a graft) in a branch or stem of another tree; to propagate by insertion in another stock; also, to insert a graft upon. transitive
- 2 To work hard. colloquial, intransitive
- 3 place the organ of a donor into the body of a recipient wordnet
- 4 To insert scions (grafts) from one tree, or kind of tree, etc., into another; to practice grafting. intransitive
- 5 To obtain illegal gain from bribery or similar corrupt practices.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 cause to grow together parts from different plants wordnet
- 7 To implant a portion of (living flesh or akin) in a lesion so as to form an organic union. transitive
- 8 To join (one thing) to another as if by grafting, so as to bring about a close union. transitive
"And graft my love immortal on thy fame!"
- 9 To cover, as a ring bolt, block strap, splicing, etc., with a weaving of small cord or rope yarns. transitive
- 10 To form a graft polymer
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Select the graft point after imagining how the branches will extend and fruit grow."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "graft"?
Common synonyms include: transplant, abstraction, affix, allograft, anchor, annex.
How do you use "graft" in a sentence?
Select the graft point after imagining how the branches will extend and fruit grow.
How do you pronounce "graft"?
Pronounced /ɡɹɑːft/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English graffe, from Old French greffe (“stylus”), from Latin graphium (“stylus”), from Ancient Greek γραφείον (grapheíon), from γράφειν (gráphein, “to write”); probably akin to English carve. So named from the resemblance of a scion or shoot to a pointed pencil. Doublet of graphium. Compare graphic, grammar.
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch graft (“canal”), from graven (“dig”). The contemporary senses “depth of digging blade” and “narrow spade” may have a separate history, but this is uncertain. Compare Old English grafet (“trench”), Old Norse grǫft (“the action of digging”). Attested from the 17th century.
Etymology 3
Uncertain. Some lexicographers suggest an extended use of Etymology 2, above, expanding from “digging” to work more generally, and from there to dishonest work. Others, however, suggest an extension from Etymology 1, shifting from “a shoot or scion” to the notion of corruption through the idea of excrescence.