Grand Rapids
25
3.9
- proper noun
- /ɡrænd ˈræpɪdz/
- The Lighthouse Academy, a 43-student program run by Wedgwood Christian Services, a nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids, Mich., has found a way to alleviate the funding dilemma.
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Grand Rapids, Mich.
Examples
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The Mohn Award is bringing Grand Rapids-style democracy to a curated, prestigious exhibit.
Blog text (30) -
I'll be in the Grand Rapids Santa Claus Parade this morning.
Blog text (16) -
I think you meant that she was flying from San Francisco to Grand Rapids with a transfer in Chicago.
Blog text (11) -
The home is about 30 miles southeast of Grand Rapids.
Blog text (27) -
Typical lead times at his company, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., average eight weeks.
Academic text (2007) -
I just finished a 7-hour voter protection shift in Grand Rapids, MI.
Blog text (29) -
Kevin Chandler is executive vice president for operations and maintenance, Total Water Management Division, Earth Tech, Inc., in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Academic text (1998) -
Illustration by Tim Foley, an artist who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Fiction book (2001) -
I was blessed to spend this evening at the Acton Institute's annual dinner event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Blog text (15) -
The furniture produced in Grand Rapids is renowned for its quality and craftsmanship.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Grand + Rapids
The parts 'grand' and 'rapids' are individually transparent and together plausibly yield the literal idea of 'large fast-moving water,' so a B1 learner would likely infer this is a place name referring to rapids. However, the specific referent—that it is a city in Michigan and its association with furniture manufacturing—cannot be derived from the constituent meanings alone, so the expression is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Grand Rapids comes from the fast, shallow water called the rapids on the nearby Grand River. That's why today Grand Rapids simply means the city that grew up beside that river.