groove

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɡruv/ UK /ˈɡruːv/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a long narrow channel cut into a surface

The needle tracked the groove of the spinning record.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a long narrow channel cut... channel furrow rut slot trench gutter score

Opposites

ridge

Word family

Derived forms groovedgroovergroovy

Related forms groovy grave

Simplified etymology

Groove entered Middle English from Dutch groeve, “furrow or pit,” and is related to grave. It first denoted a mine, shaft, or pit, then from the 17th century a channel cut into something, and in the 20th century the spiral track of a record; the musical use in the groove and the adjective groovy grew from the record and jazz sense.

Etymology

From Middle Dutch groeve ('furrow, ditch') or Dutch groef, related to Old English græf ('grave, trench'), from Proto-Germanic *grōbō ('pit, ditch').

groeve Middle Dutch *grōbō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# groove

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡruv/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡruːv/

## Meanings
1. a long narrow channel cut into a surface

## Examples
- The needle tracked the groove of the spinning record.

## Synonyms
- channel
- furrow
- rut
- slot
- trench
- gutter
- score

## Antonyms
- ridge

## Derived Forms
- grooved
- groover
- groovy

## Related Forms
- groovy
- grave

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: groeve
- Root: *grōbō

## Etymology
From Middle Dutch groeve ('furrow, ditch') or Dutch groef, related to Old English græf ('grave, trench'), from Proto-Germanic *grōbō ('pit, ditch').

## AI Etymology
Groove comes from Middle Dutch groeve ('furrow, ditch') or Dutch groef, related to Old English græf ('grave, trench'), from Proto-Germanic *grōbō ('pit, ditch'). The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun and verb meaning "a long narrow channel cut into a surface", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as grooved, groover, and groovy and related forms such as groovy and grave, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Middle Dutch groeve and Proto-Germanic *grōbō, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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