graft

graft¹ [gra:ft US græft] n

[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: graff 'graft' (14-19 centuries), from Old French grafe 'pencil, graft', from Greek graphein 'to write'; because a plant graft looks like a pencil]

1.)

a piece of healthy skin or bone taken from someone's body and put in or on another part of their body that has been damaged

▪ Martha had to have several skin grafts .

2.)

a piece cut from one plant and tied to or put inside a cut in another, so that it grows there

3.) [U] informal especially BrE hard work

▪ Our success has been due to sheer hard graft .

4.) [U] especially AmE the practice of obtaining money or advantage by the dishonest use of influence or power

▪ He promised to end graft in public life.

graft ²

graft² v

1.) [T]

to remove a piece of skin, bone etc from part of someone's body and put it onto or into a part of their body that has been damaged

graft sth onto/to sth

▪ The technique involves grafting a very thin slice of bone onto the damaged knee.

2.) [T + on/onto]

to join a part of a plant or tree onto another plant or tree

3.) [T]

to add something very different to something, so that it becomes part of it

graft sth onto sth

▪ New elements are being grafted onto our traditional form of government.

graft sth on

▪ It is a seventeenth century farmhouse with some Victorian additions grafted on.

4.) [i]informal especially BrE to work hard

graft off [graft off sb] phr v

to get money or advantages from someone by the dishonest use of influence, especially political influence