# groom

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɡɹuːm/ · frequency rank #12,430

## Definitions
1. A man who is about to marry.

## Etymology
1604, short for bridegroom (“husband-to-be”), from Middle English brydgrome, alteration (with intrusive r) of earlier bridegome (“bridegroom”), from Old English brȳdguma (“bridegroom”), from brȳd (“bride”) + guma (“man, hero”). In Middle English, the second element was re-analyzed as or influenced by grom, grome (“attendant”). Guma derives from Proto-Germanic *gumô (“man, person”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰm̥mō; it is cognate to Icelandic gumi (cf. Icelandic brúðgumi) and Norwegian gume and, ultimately, human.

## Easily confused with
- **grow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grow)
- **group** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-group)
- **grown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grown)
- **gross** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-gross)
- **grows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grows)
- **grove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grove)
- **growl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-growl)
- **Groot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-groot)
- **grout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grout)
- **grope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grope)
- **groove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-groove)
- **groovy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-groovy)
- **grooms** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-grooms)
- **Groton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-groton)
- **groomed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/groom-vs-groomed)
- **goo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/goo-vs-groom)
- **gro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gro-vs-groom)
- **good** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/good-vs-groom)
- **gram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gram-vs-groom)
- **grim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/grim-vs-groom)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ggroom`, `gorom`, `grom`, `gromo`, `groomm`, `grroom`, `rgoom`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/groom