What does gravy mean?
Gravy is a sauce or broth made from the juices, and often the fat, of meat. It may be seasoned with ingredients such as onions, herbs, salt, and pepper, and is commonly served over roast meat, potatoes, or other dishes. In British English, the word often refers more specifically to meat juices, while American speakers may apply it more broadly to a rich meat sauce. Gravy also has a figurative informal meaning: effortless profit, a lucrative opportunity, or a position offering unusually easy money. Expressions such as “on the gravy” and “the gravy train” use this nonliteral sense. The word therefore carries both domestic and culinary associations and figurative associations with abundance, benefit, and excessive ease. Its history is similarly varied, moving from a medieval word for meat broth to modern slang for financial advantage.
A seasoned sauce or broth made from meat juices, often served over food. Informally, it can also mean effortless profit or a highly lucrative opportunity.
"The meal included roast chicken, bread, and plenty of gravy."
The figurative meaning is informal and especially common in American English.
To cover food with gravy.
"She graved the potatoes with a rich onion sauce."
Rare and chiefly informal; most speakers use the noun instead.
The plural gravies is used for distinct meat gravies or dishes served with gravy; the figurative meaning of gravy is normally uncountable.
"The restaurant offered beef, chicken, and turkey gravies."
Gravy is a food word with a second career as slang for effortless profit: a lucrative job can be described as a gravy train.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of gravy
Gravy comes from Middle English gravé, from an Old French word meaning broth or gravy. It is generally traced to Medieval Latin gravia, associated with Latin gravis, meaning heavy, and is related to words such as gravity, gravid, and gravitate.
Related word forms
How gravy is actually used
The literal sense is familiar in both British and American English, although British usage often emphasizes seasoned meat juices, while American usage may use gravy more broadly for a meat-based sauce. The figurative sense is informal and especially associated with American workplace and business culture.