Basic+ Word of the Day: gross

gross (adjective, noun) LISTEN

"Eat your peas." "Ew, gross!"

Gross means ‘disgusting or vulgar.’

  • You should not use gross language in the workplace.
  • Bob's roommate had the gross habit of leaving his dirty dishes in his bedroom.
  • The little girl thought vegetables were gross.

Gross means ‘total before deductions.’

  • Jeff's gross income was a lot higher than the amount he actually received on his paycheck.

A gross is a group of 144 (12 dozen) items.

  • The office manager ordered a gross of pencils.

Common uses

gross out: to disgust or offend (slang): “Steve was grossed out by all the blood in the horror movie.”

Did you know?

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of a country’s economy. It is the total value of everything produced in a country for a year or a quarter. It’s a way to compare countries to each other. It also measures a country’s value over time.

In pop culture

At the time we are writing this, Avatar is the highest grossing movie worldwide. That measures the amount people paid to see it, without deducting costs. Did you see it? (You probably did). Watch the trailer here:

There are other meanings of gross.

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