have one foot in the grave

H h

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hav wuhn foo t in stressed th ee greyv]
- /hæv wʌn fʊt ɪn stressed ði greɪv/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hav wuhn foo t in stressed th ee greyv]
- /hæv wʌn fʊt ɪn stressed ði greɪv/

Definitions of have one foot in the grave words

noun have one foot in the grave an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body. 1
noun have one foot in the grave any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher: a watery grave. 1
noun have one foot in the grave any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past: the grave of unfulfilled ambitions. 1
noun have one foot in the grave death: O grave, where is thy victory? 1
idioms have one foot in the grave have one foot in the grave, to be so frail, sick, or old that death appears imminent: It was a shock to see my uncle looking as if he had one foot in the grave. 1
idioms have one foot in the grave make (one) turn / turn over in one's grave, to do something to which a specified dead person would have objected bitterly: This production of Hamlet is enough to make Shakespeare turn in his grave. 1

before 1000

One of the 6% oldest English words

before 1000; Middle English; Old English græf; cognate with German Grab; see grave3

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

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