TOP

Definition of groom verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

groom

verb
 
/ɡruːm/
 
/ɡruːm/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they groom
 
/ɡruːm/
 
/ɡruːm/
he / she / it grooms
 
/ɡruːmz/
 
/ɡruːmz/
past simple groomed
 
/ɡruːmd/
 
/ɡruːmd/
past participle groomed
 
/ɡruːmd/
 
/ɡruːmd/
-ing form grooming
 
/ˈɡruːmɪŋ/
 
/ˈɡruːmɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. groom something to clean or brush an animal
    • to groom a horse/dog/cat
    • The horses are all well fed and groomed.
  2. groom something (of an animal) to clean the fur or skin of another animal or itself
    • a female ape grooming her mate
  3. to prepare or train somebody for an important job or position
    • groom somebody (for/as something) Our junior employees are being groomed for more senior roles.
    • groom somebody to do something The eldest son is being groomed to take over when his father dies.
  4. groom somebody (of a person who is sexually attracted to children) to prepare a child for a meeting, especially using social media, with the intention of performing an illegal sexual actTopics Phones, email and the internetc2
  5. Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘boy’, later ‘man, male servant’): of unknown origin.
See groom in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Other results

All matches
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day