graft
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Work; "where are you GRAFTING?" i.e., where do you work? "What GRAFT are you at?" what are you doing? Perhaps derived from gardening phraseology; or a variation of craft.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “graft” mean?
Work; "where are you GRAFTING?" i.e., where do you work? "What GRAFT are you at?" what are you doing? Perhaps derived from gardening phraseology; or a variation of craft.
Is “graft” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.