Grace Meaning: Everyday Senses and the Biblical Definition

The main senses of grace

1. Elegance. Movement that looks smooth and effortless, as with a skater or a cat landing on a wall.
2. Kind, polite behavior. Handling a hard moment well, as in "she accepted the result with grace." Social graces are good manners.
3. Favor or goodwill. A kindness that someone did not have to give you. To be "in someone's good graces" means they think well of you.
4. God's free favor. In Christian teaching, love and help from God that people receive as a gift.
5. A prayer at meals. To "say grace" is to give thanks before or after eating.
6. Extra time. A grace period is time allowed after a deadline before a penalty applies.
7. A title. "Your Grace" is a formal way to address a duke, duchess or archbishop in some countries.

Grace meaning in the Bible

The biblical meaning of grace centers on a gift. In the New Testament, the Greek word usually translated as grace is charis, which also carries ideas of kindness, favor and thanks. Letters attributed to the apostle Paul use it often. A well known passage, Ephesians 2:8 and 9, says in effect that people are saved by grace through faith, and that this is a gift from God, not a reward for their own deeds.

In the Hebrew Bible, the idea is carried by words such as chen, meaning favor, as when a person "finds favor" in someone's eyes, and hesed, often translated as steadfast love or loving kindness. Many readers see these as the background to the New Testament idea.

So a simple biblical definition of grace is this: the free, undeserved favor of God toward people. It is closely tied to mercy (not getting the punishment one deserves) and to salvation.

How different traditions understand it

Christian churches agree that grace comes from God, but they describe how people receive it in different ways. Catholic and Orthodox teaching links grace closely to the sacraments, such as baptism and communion, as ordinary ways God gives it. Protestant churches that came out of the Reformation of the 16th century stress the phrase sola gratia, by grace alone, meaning that salvation cannot be earned at all. Many also speak of "common grace", the good things God gives to everyone.

Other faiths have related ideas. Islamic teaching speaks often of God's mercy and bounty toward people, and devotional strands of Hinduism speak of divine grace given to those who turn to God. For more on these themes, see the faith and belief section.

Grace in everyday sentences

• The young gymnast moved across the beam with surprising grace for someone so new to the sport.
• He lost the election for class president but congratulated the winner with real grace.
• Grandma always asks the youngest child at the table to say grace.
• The card company gives a 15 day grace period before charging a late fee.
• The mayor graced the school's opening day with a short visit.

Phrases built on the word

Graceful or gracious?

Both come from grace, but they point at different senses. Graceful is about movement and shape: a graceful dancer, a graceful curve. Gracious is about kindness and manners: a gracious host, a gracious reply. A person can be gracious without being graceful, and the other way round. In religious language, "a gracious God" means a God who shows grace, so it ties back to the faith sense.

Where the word comes from

Grace is one of the older loanwords in English, taken in during the late 1100s, borrowed from the Old French form grace, which goes back to Latin gratia, meaning favor or thanks. The same Latin root gives grateful and gratitude, which is why thanks sits close to grace in meaning. The religious sense of God's favor is among the oldest English uses, and the mealtime prayer appears by the early 13th century. Related reading: grateful and redemption.