Groom Meaning
/ˈɡɹuːm/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA man who is about to marry.
nounA person who looks after horses.
Sentence Examples
The groom works for a company now, and the bride is our teacher.
The bride and groom kissed when the ceremony ended.
The bride and groom signed the register.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He needs to ____ his appearance before the formal dinner tonight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bride and the ____ looked absolutely radiant as they walked down the aisle together after the ceremony.
Word Origin & History
1604, short for bridegroom (“husband-to-be”), from Middle English brydgrome, alteration (with intrusive r) of earlier bridegome (“bridegroom”), from Old English brȳdguma (“bridegroom”), from brȳd (“bride”) + guma (“man, hero”). In Middle English, the second element was re-analyzed as or influenced by grom, grome (“attendant”). Guma derives from Proto-Germanic *gumô (“man, person”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰm̥mō; it is cognate to Icelandic gumi (cf. Icelandic brúðgumi) and Norwegian gume and, ultimately, human.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid."
— 2013 January 26, Brian Hayes, “Father of Fractals”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, page 62:
"The needy groom, that never finger'd groat,
Would make a miracle of thus much coin …"
— c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act I:
"Going into the hall he saw a handsome groom, in a braided livery and a bear fur cape, holding a white fur cloak."
— 1901 [1878], chapter 19, in Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 4:
"India is run by gerontocrats and epigones: grey hairs and groomed heirs."
— 2013 May 11, “What a waste”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 12:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He needs to ____ his appearance before the formal dinner tonight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bride and the ____ looked absolutely radiant as they walked down the aisle together after the ceremony.