What does "grape" mean?
A small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on vines of genus Vitis.
Grape
/ɡɹeɪp/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on vines of genus Vitis.
- Grammar: grape is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ball, berry, buckshot, bullet.
- Useful contrasts: vegetable.
- Usage evidence: Tom bought three bottles of grape juice.
How to use "grape"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "grape" 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 "grape" 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 "grape" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "grape" 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 "grape" is acting as adj, 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 "ball" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "grape", 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, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on vines of genus Vitis. countable
"Grapes give us whole-fruit snacks, grape juice, raisins, wine, and more."
- 2 Filter-avoidance spelling of rape. Internet, countable, euphemistic, uncountable
- 3 a cluster of small projectiles fired together from a cannon to produce a hail of shot wordnet
- 4 A woody vine of genus Vitis that bears clusters of grapes; a grapevine. countable, uncountable
"wild grape covering the back slope"
- 5 any of various juicy fruit of the genus Vitis with green or purple skins; grow in clusters wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Any of various fruits or plants with varying resemblances to those of genus Vitis but belonging to other genera; their edibility varies. countable
"sea grape; tail grape"
- 7 any of numerous woody vines of genus Vitis bearing clusters of edible berries wordnet
- 8 A dark purplish-red colour, the colour of many grapes. countable, uncountable
"For those seeking purply tones, the paint colors available include mauve, magenta, and grape."
- 9 Clipping of grapeshot. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, uncountable
"men mowed down by grape"
- 10 A mangy tumour on a horse's leg. countable, uncountable
- 11 A purple-shirted technician responsible for refueling aircraft. US, countable, slang, uncountable
"I was horrified to see three grapes standing by the aircraft with the hose still connected."
- 12 A person's head. countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To pick grapes.
"I used to go graping and blackberrying and blueberrying."
- 2 Filter-avoidance spelling of rape. Internet, euphemistic
- 3 Of livestock, to develop tubercules as a result of tuberculosis.
"Some are called ticked; some have the milk fever; some have worm-'ith-tail ; some are graped ; others are broken-up old cows."
- 4 To develop a texture with small grape-like clusters of a contaminant or foreign substance.
"Over the huge abraded rind, Crow-countries graped with dung, we go, Past gullies that no longer flow And wells that nobody can find, Lashed by the screaming of the crow, Stabbed by the needles of the mind."
- 5 To grope. Northern-UK
"Lang, lang I sought and graped for my pack, Till night and hunger forced me to come back."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To envy (derived from "sour grapes" idiom). Hong-Kong
Adjective
- 1 Containing grapes or having a grape flavor.
- 2 Of a dark purplish red colour.
Antonyms
Example
"Tom bought three bottles of grape juice."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "grape"?
Common synonyms include: ball, berry, buckshot, bullet, cannonball, color.
How do you use "grape" in a sentence?
Tom bought three bottles of grape juice.
How do you pronounce "grape"?
Pronounced /ɡɹeɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English grape, from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“cluster of fruit or flowers, bunch of grapes”), from graper, craper (“to pick grapes”, literally “to hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greb- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). Cognate with Middle Dutch krappe (“hook”), Old High German krapfo (“hook”) (whence German Krapfen (“Berliner doughnut”). Doublet of grappa. More at cramp.