grave accent (gr?v, gräv)n.1. A mark ( ` ) indicating a pronounced e for the sake of meter in the usually nonsyllabic ending -ed in English poetry.2. A similar mark used in various languages as an indication of vowel quality or quantity.3. A similar mark used, as in transliteration of Chinese, to indicate that a syllable has a falling pitch.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.grave? ac?cent (gre?v, gr?v) n. a mark (`) placed over a vowel esp. to indicate that the vowel is open or lax, as French è, has distinct syllabic value, as in English belovèd, or that the vowel or the syllable it is in has secondary stress or is pronounced with a low or falling pitch. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.