Definition of "groom" in English

noun

1. A man who is about to marry.

noun

1. A person who looks after horses.

2. One of several officers of the English royal household, chiefly in the lord chamberlain's department.

   • the groom of the chamber; the groom of the stole

3. (archaic) A male servant, or more generally, a common man.

4. A brushing or cleaning, as of a dog or horse.

   • Give the mare a quick groom before you take her out.

verb

1. To attend to one's appearance and clothing.

2. (transitive) To care for (horses or other animals) by brushing and cleaning them.

   • 2010 (April 20) "The Collection" s1e6 of TV series Justified The wife didn't care about riding, but Owen did. Well, he cared about me. I went from doing everything — grooming, feeding, looking out — to being handed the reins of the most magnificent creatures ready to ride.

3. (transitive) To prepare (someone) for an event

   • It appears that Broderick's seconds, although cool, brave men, were entirely without experience in arranging a duel, and did not know that a man should be groomed for one as carefully as a horse is groomed for a race.

4. (transitive) To prepare (someone) for election or appointment.

   • It is of special interest to note the subjects considered as important to those who are being groomed for top administrative posts
   • 2002, Clone High episode 1 - "Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand" Our mission is to unfreeze those clones, send them back to high school, and secretly groom them to one day rule the world. Failure to do so could mean world leaders just keep getting worse.
   • 2009, Dani Johnson, Grooming the Next Generation for Success
   • 2012 (February 28) in "The Man Behind the Curtain" s3e7 of TV series Justified I was the son he always wanted. He groomed me to take over someday, but now Sammy's got the houses, the cars, the money, the juice.
   • 2023 in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" episode 5 "Deux Amours" regarding Laurent Daryl "But he's gonna be safe? I'm afraid those nuns raised him a little -- a little soft." Losang "He'll be well looked after. Nurtured and groomed... to be the leader he's destined to be."

5. (transitive, law) To gain, or attempt to gain, the trust of a child or vulnerable person in order to take advantage of or exploit them, especially sexually (if under the age of consent).

   • 2009, Suzanne Ost, Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming: Legal and Societal Responses