Grey Cup, the 612
'Grey 'Cup, the a competition held every year to find the
best Canadian FOOTBALL team. It is also the name of the
prize for winning the competition.
grey-hound /'greɪhaʊnd/ n a type of thin dog with long
thin legs that can run very fast in hunting and especially
racing → see picture at DOG
,Greyhound 'Bus trademark a type of bus service, connecting
cities in the US, operated by Greyhound Lines Inc. Grey-
hound Buses are a popular way of travelling in the US,
because they are cheaper than renting a car or going by
plane. However, they often make stops in small towns along
the way, so travelling can take a long time.
'greyhound racing n [U] a popular sport in Britain in
which greyhounds run around a track chasing a model HARE
driven by an electric motor. People risk their money on
which dog will win the race. This sport is also found in the
US, but is not as popular there as in Britain.
grey-ing BrE || graying AmE /'greɪ-ɪŋ/ n the greying of sth
the situation in which the average age of a population
increases, so that there are more old people than there were
in the past: the greying of classical music audiences
grey-ish || usually grayish AmE /'greɪ-ɪʃ/ adj slightly grey
'grey market BrE || gray market AmE— n 1 the system by
which people buy and sell goods that are hard to find, in a
way that is legal but not morally good or correct 2 tech a
situation in which people buy and sell SHARES just before
they are officially made available to be sold for the first time
'grey matter n [U] 1 the substance of the brain and
nervous system which contains cell bodies, especially the
central part of the brain 2 infml brain power; the power of
thought
Grey Pou-pon /ˌgreɪ puːˈpɒn||-ˈpɑːn/ trademark a type of
MUSTARD sold in the US, which is typically bought by people
who eat expensive, high quality foods
grid /grɪd/ n 1 a set of bars set across each other in a frame;
GRATING: a grid over a drain → see also CATTLE GRID 2 BrE a
network of electricity supply wires connecting power sta-
tions: the national grid 3 a system of numbered squares
printed on a map so that the exact position of any place on
it may be stated or found 4 a set of starting positions for all
the cars in a motor race
grid-dle /'grɪdl/ n 1 an iron plate which was used especially
formerly for cooking things, such as flat cakes (griddle
cakes), over a fire 2 AmE a flat, usually round, plate used for
cooking things, e.g. PANCAKES on top of a COOKER
grid-i-ron /'grɪdaɪən||-ərn/ n 1 an open frame of metal bars
for cooking meat or fish over a very hot fire 2 AmE a field
marked in white lines for American football
grid-lock /'grɪdlɒk||-lɑːk/ n [U] especially AmE 1 a situation in
which streets in a city are so full of cars that they cannot
move 2 a situation in which nothing can happen, usually
because people disagree strongly: Clinton is in gridlock with
the Congress. —gridlocked adj
grief /griːf/ n [U] 1 great sorrow or feelings of suffering,
especially at the death of a loved person: She went nearly
mad with grief after the child died. | the grief-stricken
relatives of the murdered man 2 come to grief to fall or
fail, causing harm or loss to oneself: She cycled fast down
the hill but came to grief when she went over a stone. | Their
plans came to grief when the bank refused to lend them more
money. → see also good grief (GOOD¹) 3 give sb grief to
criticize or complain about someone: Even the producer's
mother gave him grief for cancelling the show. | I was sick of
being stuck at home, with Lorraine giving me grief about
finding a job.
Grieg, Ed-vard /griːg, 'edvɑːd||-vɑːrd/ (1843–1907) a Norwe-
gian COMPOSER best known for his music for the play Peer
Gynt and for his Piano Concerto
griev-ance /'griːvəns/ n a complaint or cause for complaint,
especially when one feels one has been unfairly treated: She
has a very real grievance against the hospital, since the opera-
tion which ruined her health. | a committee to look into the
workers' grievances | Nursing a grievance (=thinking about
it continuously) makes you bitter.
grieve /griːv/ v 1 [(for)] to suffer from grief or great sadness:
She is still grieving (for her dead husband). 2 [T] fml to cause
grief to; make very unhappy; DISTRESS: It grieves me to see
him wasting his youth.
griev-ous /'griːvəs/ adj [A] fml 1 very seriously harmful: You
have made a grievous mistake, which could affect the rest of
your life. 2 (of a wound, pain etc) severe: a grievous wound
—ly adv —ness n [U]
grievous bodily harm n [U] BrE law physical harm done
to a person in an attack, for which the attacker may be
charged in a court of law. These words are often shortened
to GBH, the first letters only, in conversation: He was in
prison for three years for GBH.
grif-fin, griffon, gryphon
/'grɪfən/ n an imaginary ani-
mal in stories with a lion's
body and the wings and
head of an EAGLE (= a large
bird)
Grif-fith, D.W. /'grɪfɪθ/
(1875–1948) one of the greatest
US film DIRECTORS, famous
especially for inventing new
ways of making films and of using the camera. His films
include Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).
grift /grɪft/ v [T] AmE slang to obtain (money etc) by deceiving
someone —grifter n
grill¹ /grɪl/ v 1 BrE || broil AmE [I;T] to cook (something) under
or over direct heat: grilled sausages | (fig.) He's grilling
(himself) out there in the midday sun. → see COOK
(USAGE) 2 [T] infml (especially of the police) to question
severely and continuously: When the woman identified him
as the criminal, he was grilled for two hours before the police
accepted his alibi.
grill² n 1 BrE || broiler AmE — an arrangement of a metal shelf
under a gas flame or electric heat, used to cook food quickly:
Put the bread under the grill to make toast. | a grill pan (= a
part of the metal shelf, a container to catch fat etc) → see
COOK (USAGE); see picture at KITCHEN 2 a set of bars which
can be put over a hot open fire, so that food can be cooked
quickly: Put the steaks on the grill. → see also MIXED GRILL
grille /grɪl/ n a frame of usually upright metal bars filling a
space in a door or window, such as one in a bank or post
office separating a clerk from the customers, or one at the
front of a car, where it protects the RADIATOR
grilled 'cheese n AmE a SANDWICH of melted cheese
between slices of bread that have been lightly fried
grim /grɪm/ adj -mm- 1 causing great fear or anxiety: The
judge's expression was grim as he told them they were to be
hanged. | There's more grim news from the war zone; over a
thousand of our men were killed today. | The staff now face
the grim prospect of redundancy. 2 determined in spite of
fear or great difficulty: a grim smile 3 infml unpleasant; not
cheerful: I've had a grim day. | I had to spend the whole
evening listening to Mr Watson's fishing stories; it was pretty
grim, I can tell you! 4 like grim death infml with great
determination, in spite of difficulty: She hung on like grim
death till the firemen arrived with their ladders. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
gri-mace¹ /grɪ'meɪs, 'grɪmæs||'grɪmæs, grɪ'meɪs/ v [(at,
with)] to make an expression of pain, annoyance etc, which
makes the face look unnaturally twisted: She grimaced with
pain. | The teacher grimaced as he looked at my work.
grimace² n an unnatural twisting of the face, as in pain or
annoyance: a grimace of pain
grime /graɪm/ n [U] a surface of thick black dirt: His face and
hands were covered with grime from the coal dust.
Grimm /grɪm/ two German brothers, Jakob Grimm (1785–1863)
and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), usually known as The Broth-
ers Grimm. They studied language and wrote a German
dictionary, but they are best known for writing Grimm's Fairy
Tales, a collection of nearly 200 stories which are still popular
with children.