Gross means disgusting or revolting, and as an exclamation it's like yuck! People use it about things that make them feel disgusted: food that's gone off, dirt, a bad smell. The word is informal and emotional, and it often comes together with ew: Ew, gross!
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(that's) gross!; ew, gross; smell/taste/look + gross; so gross
- Ew, gross, someone left a half-eaten sandwich on the bus seat.
- This milk smells gross, I think it went off days ago.
- You dip your chips in ice cream? That's so gross.
What changed
First versionThere's mould all over the bread. What a gross!
RevisionThere's mould all over the bread. How gross!
Gross is an adjective: it describes something, so it can't follow what a on its own. The exclamation is How gross! or That's so gross! The pattern with what a needs a noun: What a gross smell!
Gross and cringe are often confused because both can sound like ugh. Gross is physical disgust at food, dirt or a smell. Cringe is awkwardness or second-hand embarrassment: His dance at the wedding was so cringe. As a reaction, gross only works with friends; in an essay, write unpleasant or disgusting, and in IELTS Speaking, really unpleasant works well.
Your turn
There's a long hair in my soup! — Ew, that's ___. Ask the waiter for a new bowl.
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gross — A hair in your soup is disgusting, so gross fits. Cringe is about awkward, embarrassing behaviour, not about something that's revolting to eat.
Tell a friend about the most disgusting thing you've found in a kitchen or fridge. Use gross and say where it was.
The fridge in our student flat was so gross, there was old cheese covered in mould.
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