gravels

Noun

gravel (usually uncountable, plural gravels)

1. (usually) Small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast.
2. (usually) A type or grade of small rocks, differentiated by mineral type, size range, or other characteristics.
3. (usually) A particle from 2 to 64 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
4. (archaic, usually) Kidney stones, or nephrolithiasis
   • The great use of coffee in France is supposed to have abated the prevalency of the gravel, for where coffee is used as a constant beverage, the gravel and the gout are scarcely known.1848, J. S. Skinner & Son, editor, The Plough, The Loom and the Anvil, volume I, Philadelphia: J. S. Skinner & Son, page 137

   Synonyms:

   chisel, chessil, stones, gallstones

5. (usually) A lameness in the foot of a horse, usually caused by an abscess.
   • The defendant below hired the horse to go from Cocksackie to Schodack, and the next day after his arrival at the latter place, the horse was found to be lame in one foot; and the lameness increasing, the defendant below was obliged to leave the horse there, and hire another with which to return....1817, William Johnson, editor, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Judicature, E. F. Backus, page 211
6. (rare, usually) Inability to see at night; night blindness.
   • A malady that was rare, but which because of its peculiarity elicited much comment, was "night blindness" or "gravel."1943, Bell Irvin Wiley, The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 255

See all 14 meanings of gravel