noun

graft

transplant, bribery, hard work, scion

It was a skin graft from his own leg.

It was a skin graft from his own leg.

Winning the championship took years of hard graft.

Winning the championship took years of hard graft.

He was accused of corruption and graft.

He was accused of corruption and graft.

a skin/bone graft a medical transplant He needed a skin graft after the fire.

hard graft hard work It takes hard graft to succeed.

graft bribery/corruption The politician was jailed for graft.

Synonyms: (transplant) implant; (bribery) corruption, payola; (hard work) toil, labor

From Old French 'grafe' (stylus), from Greek 'graphein' (to write). The sense evolved from the pointed tool used for grafting plants to the act itself.

Visualize grafting a new piece onto something else: a piece of skin, a tree branch, or even dishonestly grafting money from a system.

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