What does "gross" mean?
Twelve dozen = 144.
Gross
/ɡɹoʊs/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Twelve dozen = 144.
- Grammar: gross is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: 144, abhorrent, abject, abominable.
- Useful contrasts: microscopic, nice, specific.
- Usage evidence: The gross national product of our country is the second largest.
How to use "gross"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gross" 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 "gross" 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 "gross" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- 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.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gross" is acting as adj, 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 "144" 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 "gross", 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 Twelve dozen = 144. countable, uncountable
"We need to order three gross of torx screws for next week."
- 2 the entire amount of income before any deductions are made wordnet
- 3 The total amount (of goods, money, etc) before taxes, expenses, exceptions, tares, or similar deductions are subtracted. countable, uncountable
- 4 twelve dozen wordnet
- 5 The bulk; the mass. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To earn money, not including expenses. transitive
"The movie grossed three million on the first weekend."
- 2 earn before taxes, expenses, etc. wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Highly or conspicuously offensive.
"a gross mistake; gross injustice; gross negligence; a gross insult"
- 2 Of an amount: excluding any deductions; including all associated amounts.
"gross domestic product; gross income; gross weight"
- 3 Seen without a microscope (usually for a tissue or an organ); at a large scale; not detailed.
"gross anatomy"
- 4 Causing disgust. Australia, Canada, US, informal
"I threw up all over the bed. It was totally gross."
- 5 Lacking refinement in behaviour or manner; offending a standard of morality.
"Pog. Forsooth my Maister said that hee loved her almost as well as hee loved parmasent, and swore […] that shee wanted such a Nose as his was, to be as pretty a young woeman, as was any in Parma. Do. Oh grose!"
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Lacking refinement; not of high quality.
"The flowers of Rubens are gross and rude […]"
- 7 Dense, heavy.
"Thy spirit ere our fatal loss / Did ever rise from high to higher; / As mounts the heavenward altar-fire, / As flies the lighter thro’ the gross."
- 8 Heavy in proportion to one's height; having a lot of excess flesh.
"Kitty noticed that her sister’s pregnancy had blunted her features and in her black dress she looked gross and blousy."
- 9 Difficult or impossible to see through. poetic
"Couragious Lancaster, imbrace thy king, / And as grosse vapours perish by the sunne, / Euen so let hatred with thy soueraigne smile,"
- 10 Not sensitive in perception or feeling. archaic
"For he is groſſe and like the maſſie earth, / That mooues not vpwards, nor by princely deeds / Doth meane to ſoare aboue the highest ſort."
- 11 Easy to perceive. obsolete
"[…] though the truth of it stands off as gross / As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it."
Adjective
- 1 conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible wordnet
- 2 conspicuously and tastelessly indecent wordnet
- 3 repellently fat wordnet
- 4 lacking fine distinctions or detail wordnet
- 5 without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 before any deductions wordnet
- 7 visible to the naked eye (especially of rocks and anatomical features) wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Middle English, originally a nickname for a big man, from Middle English gros (“large”).
"This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies, in today for Terry Gross."
- 2 A village in Nebraska, having a population of two as of 2010.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The gross national product of our country is the second largest."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gross"?
Common synonyms include: 144, abhorrent, abject, abominable, absolute, adamic.
How do you use "gross" in a sentence?
The gross national product of our country is the second largest.
How do you pronounce "gross"?
Pronounced /ɡɹoʊs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gros (“large, thick, full-bodied; coarse, unrefined, simple”), from Old French gros, from Latin grossus (“big, fat, thick”, in Late Latin also “coarse, rough”), of uncertain further origin but perhaps related to Proto-Celtic *brassos (“great, violent”).
Etymology 2
* As a Jewish and German surname, from groß (“great, large”). The Jewish surname was influenced by Hebrew גדול (“big, large”), hence the Hebraicization Gadol. * As an English surname, from the noun and adjective gross, a doublet of above. The village is named after Ben Gross, who kept a general store there.