GRAVEL (gravelled, gravelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: gravelled    , gravelling   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gravel mean? 

• GRAVEL (noun)
  The noun GRAVEL has 1 sense:

1. rock fragments and pebbles

  Familiarity information: GRAVEL used as a noun is very rare.

• GRAVEL (verb)
  The verb GRAVEL has 3 senses:

1. cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

2. cover with gravel

3. be a mystery or bewildering to

  Familiarity information: GRAVEL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRAVEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rock fragments and pebbles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

crushed rock; gravel

Hypernyms ("gravel" is a kind of...):

rock; stone (material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gravel"):

ballast (coarse gravel laid to form a bed for streets and railroads)

bank gravel; pit-run gravel; pit run (gravel as found in natural deposits)

shingle (coarse beach gravel of small waterworn stones and pebbles (or a stretch of shore covered with such gravel))

Derivation:

gravel (cover with gravel)

gravelly (abounding in small stones)

• GRAVEL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they gravel    ... he / she / it gravels   
Past simple: graveled    / gravelled   
Past participle: graveled    / gravelled   
-ing form: graveling    / gravelling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex

Context example:

It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves

Hypernyms (to "gravel" is one way to...):

displease (give displeasure to)

Verb group:

chafe (feel extreme irritation or anger)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gravel"):

get; get under one's skin (irritate)

eat into; fret; grate; rankle (gnaw into; make resentful or angry)

peeve (cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful)

ruffle (trouble or vex)

fret (cause annoyance in)

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

antagonise; antagonize (provoke the hostility of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to gravel Sue

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cover with gravel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

We gravelled the driveway

Hypernyms (to "gravel" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

gravel (rock fragments and pebbles)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be a mystery or bewildering to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex

Context example:

This question really stuck me

Hypernyms (to "gravel" is one way to...):

bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gravel"):

mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)

riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)

elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

You have a sweet room here, Mr. Bingley, and a charming prospect over the gravel walk.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

About the centre, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed—I tethered by my rope, he ploughing, with deep pants, among the sliding gravel.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The moon was set, and it was very dark; Bessie carried a lantern, whose light glanced on wet steps and gravel road sodden by a recent thaw.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But when combined with the gravel, the two-stage system became effective enough to tackle pathogens.

(Soil-based filter bricks clean up water for Moroccan farmers, SciDev.Net)

As we passed along, the gravel hurt my feet, and Lucy noticed me wince.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Leaving your door just as day was breaking, you filled your pocket with some reddish gravel that was lying heaped beside your gate.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But, Fanny, he presently added, in order to have a comfortable walk, something more is necessary than merely pacing this gravel together.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

But Jim swung the gate open, and up we went, the gravel squeaking beneath our tread.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Below the rapid was a second pool, and here, captured by the eddy, he was gently borne to the bank, and as gently deposited on a bed of gravel.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A major component of many types of rocks on Earth, silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) is used in industrial sand-and-gravel mixtures to make concrete for sidewalks, roads and buildings.

(Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand, Glass, NASA)