Get ready, because gross has a few different meanings. When something is gross, it's disgusting. The noun, a gross, is the complete amount (before expenses), and the verb "to gross" is to bring in money.
Two things will tell you which meaning is the right one with a word like gross, the part of speech and the context. If you're talking about awful, sickening, vile things such as dissecting an animal or filthy behavior, you're looking at the adjective gross. Ew! That guy is gross. If you're talking about, say, how much money a movie made, that's the noun gross. That was the biggest gross in history! Likewise, the verb to gross is to pull in money. The bake sale grossed 29 bucks! But remember, the gross is how much you made in total, not how much you cleared — the "net" or "profit."
1 |
adj |
lacking fine distinctions or detail
|
2 |
adjnv |
without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
the entire amount of income before any deductions are made
earn before taxes, expenses, etc.
|
3 |
adj |
conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
|
4 |
n |
twelve dozen
|
