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gravir

climb

verb grah-VEER Rare

Origin: Old French gravir, possibly from a Germanic root

Also means

scale

Usage Note

Gravir specifically means to climb something steep with effort, such as a mountain, staircase, or social ladder. It is more effortful than monter (to go up) and takes a direct object: gravir une montagne, gravir les échelons (to climb the career ladder). It is a second-group verb (-ir) conjugated regularly.

Examples

"Ils ont gravi la montagne en deux heures."

Natural Translation

They climbed the mountain in two hours.

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