"grep" meaning in English

See grep in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

IPA: /ɡɹɛp/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav
Rhymes: -ɛp Etymology: From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print. Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} grep
  1. A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern.
    Sense id: en-grep-en-name-WB8UiwTz Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Regular expressions Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 21 35 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 45 21 34 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 44 24 32 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 48 21 31 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 48 21 31 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 54 19 27 Disambiguation of Regular expressions: 49 18 34

Verb

IPA: /ɡɹɛp/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav Forms: greps [present, singular, third-person], grepping [participle, present], grepped [participle, past], grepped [past]
Rhymes: -ɛp Etymology: From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print. Head templates: {{en-verb}} grep (third-person singular simple present greps, present participle grepping, simple past and past participle grepped)
  1. (computing) To use a program such as grep to search in a file. Translations (use the program grep): greppen (Dutch), grepata (Finnish), greppen (German), grepする (Japanese)
    Sense id: en-grep-en-verb-xQXrGAGg Categories (other): Computing, English entries with incorrect language header, Computing Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 21 35 Disambiguation of Computing: 12 77 11 Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences Disambiguation of 'use the program grep': 100 0
  2. (by extension) To search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye). Tags: broadly Translations (search anything): greppen (Dutch), zoeken (Dutch)
    Sense id: en-grep-en-verb-L9aUshPY Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 21 35 Disambiguation of 'search anything': 31 69
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: greppable

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_text": "From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "grep",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "44 21 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 21 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 24 32",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "48 21 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "48 21 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 19 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 18 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Regular expressions",
          "orig": "en:Regular expressions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern."
      ],
      "id": "en-grep-en-name-WB8UiwTz",
      "links": [
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "select",
          "select"
        ],
        [
          "line",
          "line"
        ],
        [
          "file",
          "file"
        ],
        [
          "match",
          "match"
        ],
        [
          "pattern",
          "pattern"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡɹɛp/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛp"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "grep"
  ],
  "word": "grep"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "greppable"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "greps",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepping",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepped",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "grep (third-person singular simple present greps, present participle grepping, simple past and past participle grepped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Computing",
          "orig": "en:Computing",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 21 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 77 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Computing",
          "orig": "en:Computing",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You can't grep dead trees.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              20,
              28
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2019, Kamesh Ganesan, Rithin Skaria, Frederik Vos, Hands-On Linux Administration on Azure […] , 2nd edition, Packt Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 293:",
          "text": "Running netstat and grepping for sshd will give a similar output to this: […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use a program such as grep to search in a file."
      ],
      "id": "en-grep-en-verb-xQXrGAGg",
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "grep",
          "#Proper noun"
        ],
        [
          "search",
          "search"
        ],
        [
          "file",
          "file"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing) To use a program such as grep to search in a file."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "use the program grep",
          "word": "greppen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "use the program grep",
          "word": "grepata"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "use the program grep",
          "word": "greppen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "use the program grep",
          "word": "grepする"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "44 21 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye)."
      ],
      "id": "en-grep-en-verb-L9aUshPY",
      "links": [
        [
          "search",
          "search"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) To search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "31 69",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "search anything",
          "word": "greppen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "31 69",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "search anything",
          "word": "zoeken"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡɹɛp/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛp"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "grep"
  ],
  "word": "grep"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 10 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛp",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛp/1 syllable",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "en:Computing",
    "en:Regular expressions"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "grep",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "select",
          "select"
        ],
        [
          "line",
          "line"
        ],
        [
          "file",
          "file"
        ],
        [
          "match",
          "match"
        ],
        [
          "pattern",
          "pattern"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡɹɛp/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛp"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "grep"
  ],
  "word": "grep"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 10 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛp",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛp/1 syllable",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "en:Computing",
    "en:Regular expressions"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "greppable"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "greps",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepping",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "grepped",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "grep (third-person singular simple present greps, present participle grepping, simple past and past participle grepped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "en:Computing"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You can't grep dead trees.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              20,
              28
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2019, Kamesh Ganesan, Rithin Skaria, Frederik Vos, Hands-On Linux Administration on Azure […] , 2nd edition, Packt Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 293:",
          "text": "Running netstat and grepping for sshd will give a similar output to this: […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use a program such as grep to search in a file."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "grep",
          "#Proper noun"
        ],
        [
          "search",
          "search"
        ],
        [
          "file",
          "file"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing) To use a program such as grep to search in a file."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "search",
          "search"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) To search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡɹɛp/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grep.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-grep.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛp"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "use the program grep",
      "word": "greppen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "use the program grep",
      "word": "grepata"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "use the program grep",
      "word": "greppen"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "use the program grep",
      "word": "grepする"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "search anything",
      "word": "greppen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "search anything",
      "word": "zoeken"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "grep"
  ],
  "word": "grep"
}

Download raw JSONL data for grep meaning in English (4.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (5ee713e and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.