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groove

verb · noun

Simple meaning

A long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process or by a tool.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

groov
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɹuv

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To perform, dance to, or enjoy rhythmic music.

  2. transitive

    To cut a groove or channel in; to form into channels or grooves; to furrow.

noun

  1. A long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record)

  2. A settled and monotonous routine that is hard to escape

  3. A fixed routine.

  4. music

    A pronounced, enjoyable rhythm.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record)

Used this way, groove is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

spiral groovegroove alongmedian groove

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tongue and groove jointnounCompound term

    A mortise joint made by fitting a projection on the edge of one board into a matching groove on another board.

  • costal groovenounCompound term

    Groove between the ribs where the nerves and blood vessels are.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to perform or dance to

furrowrout

noun

Sense: long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion)

rut

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.