Gross has 14 different meanings across 4 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Proper Noun
Twelve dozen = 144.
"The bakery ordered a gross of eggs to ensure they had enough stock for the weekend rush."
In plain English: Gross is the total amount of something before any deductions are taken out.
"The gross weight of the package was too heavy to lift by hand."
Usage: Use the noun "gross" to refer specifically to a quantity of twelve dozen or 144 items, often appearing in business contexts like wholesale pricing. Do not use it for general amounts unless you are explicitly citing this traditional unit of measure.
earn before taxes, expenses, etc.
"The new job pays a gross salary of fifty thousand dollars per year."
To earn money, not including expenses.
"Before paying for rent and utilities, she looked at her gross monthly income to see if she could afford a new car."
In plain English: To gross means to make someone feel disgusted or repulsed by something unpleasant.
"The company will gross $50,000 from ticket sales today."
Usage: Use the verb form of gross to indicate the total amount of money earned before any deductions are made. Avoid using it in casual conversation when you simply mean something is repulsive or unpleasant.
visible to the naked eye (especially of rocks and anatomical features)
"The geologist examined the gross morphology of the rock samples before attempting any microscopic analysis."
without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
"an arrant fool"
"a complete coward"
"a consummate fool"
"a double-dyed villain"
"gross negligence"
"a perfect idiot"
"pure folly"
"what a sodding mess"
"stark staring mad"
"a thorough nuisance"
"a thoroughgoing villain"
"utter nonsense"
"the unadulterated truth"
Highly or conspicuously offensive.
"The smell of rotting garbage drifting from the dumpster was so gross that everyone covering their noses quickly moved away."
In plain English: Gross means something that is disgusting, repulsive, or makes you feel sick to your stomach.
"The gross amount of trash in the street was disgusting."
Usage: Use "gross" to describe something that is highly offensive, disgusting, or repulsive, such as gross behavior or a gross insult. Avoid using it simply to mean "large" or "total," as those are separate definitions of the word.
A surname, from Middle English, originally a nickname for a big man, from Middle English gros (“large”).
"The Gross family has been running their bakery in the same town for four generations."
The word "gross" entered English from Middle English as meaning large or coarse. It ultimately traces back to the Latin grossus, which originally described something big, fat, or thick.