groove
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɡɹuːv/
ipa: /ɡɹuv/
rhymes: -uːv
Forms: form: grooves
Etymology: From Middle English grov, grove, groof, grofe (“cave; pit; mining shaft”), probably from Old Norse gróf (“pit”) or from Middle Dutch groeve (“furrow, ditch”), both from Proto-West Germanic *grōbu, from Proto-Germanic *grōbō (“groove, furrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scrape, bury”).
Cognate with Cimbrian gruuba (“gorge, ravine”), Dutch groef, groeve (“groove; pit, grave”), German Grube (“ditch, pit”), Luxembourgish Grouf (“pit, mine”), Mòcheno gruab (“mine”), Icelandic gróf (“pit, hollow”), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐍉𐌱𐌰 (grōba, “foxhole”), Serbo-Croatian grèbati (“scratch, dig”). Related to Old English grafan (“to dig”). More at grave.
Senses: antonyms: ridge
glosses: A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tire groove, or a geological channel or depression.
examples: text: Through these distresses, the Odd Girl was cheerful and exemplary. But within four hours after dark we had got into a supernatural groove, and the Odd Girl had seen “Eyes,” and was in hysterics.
ref: 1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Mortals in the House”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Whiting, […], →OCLC, page 4:
text: The gregarious trifling of life in the social groove.
ref: 1873, John Morley, Rousseau:
text: His counterpart Neil Warnock got his tactics spot on as Chelsea struggled to get into any sort of groove in the first half.
ref: 2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1 - 0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: A fixed routine.
glosses: The middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit.
examples: text: Now, what you hear is not a test, I'm rapping to the beat / And me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet
ref: 1979, “Rapper's Delight”, performed by The Sugarhill Gang:
text: Let the music play / He won't get away / This groove he can't ignore
ref: 1983, Chris Barbosa, Ed Chisolm, “Let the Music Play”, performed by Shannon:
text: Get into the groove / Boy, you've got to prove / Your love to me / Get up on your feet / Yeah, step to the beat
ref: 1985, Stephen Bray, Madonna, “Into the Groove”, in Like a Virgin, performed by Madonna:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A pronounced, enjoyable rhythm.
examples: text: You can't hide forever, just decide to make it better / Turn it into something good / Remember, you can choose not to lose / Find your groove and be a winner
ref: 1980, Earth, Wind & Fire, “Turn It Into Something Good”, in Faces (Earth, Wind & Fire album):
text: How could he be expected to make music that put the audience in a groove, he reasoned, if he wasn't grooving himself?
ref: 2010, Jan Reid, Shawn Sahm, Texas Tornado: The Times and Music of Doug Sahm, page 57:
glosses: A good feeling (often as in the groove).
topics: business
mining
glosses: A shaft or excavation.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
motor-racing
racing
sports
glosses: The optimal route around the track, or any of several such routes.
Derived terms: back in the groove
engroove
Galvayne's groove
get one's groove on
groovebox
groove fricative
groove-joint pliers
grooveless
groovelike
groovemeister
groove metal
groovesome
groovester
groovetastic
groovework
groovitude
groovy
infraorbital groove
ingroove
in the groove
locked groove
microgroove
nanogroove
polygroove
porn groove
pregroove
rare groove
tongue and groove