A groom (short for

bridegroom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and grooms ...

) is a male participant in a wedding ceremony. Groom or grooming may also refer to:

Occupations

Groom (profession) A groom or stable boy (stable hand, stable lad) is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses and/or the care of the stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable ...

, a person responsible for the feeding and care of horses * One of the competitors in

combined driving Combined driving (also known as horse driving trials) is an equestrian sport involving driving (horse), carriage driving. In this discipline, the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four. The sport has three p ...

is called a groom

In the English/British Royal Household

* Groom of the Bedchamber, later named

Groom in Waiting The office of Groom in Waiting (sometimes hyphenated as Groom-in-Waiting) was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be d ...

, a junior nobleman in attendance in the King's Bedchamber *

Groom of the Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

, a rank of courtier in the Tudor royal court * Groom of the Great Chamber, a junior nobleman in attendance (who would customarily also serve as

King's Messenger The Corps of King's Messengers (or Corps of Queen's Messengers during the reign of a female monarch) are couriers employed by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They hand-carry secret and important documents to B ...

) *

Groom of the Privy Chamber A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obli ...

, a junior nobleman in attendance in the Chamber *

Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of c ...

Groom of the Stool The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, initially responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physical intimacy of the role natur ...

, later named Groom of the Stole, the senior nobleman in attendance in the King's Bedchamber

Places

Groom, Texas Groom is a town in Carson County, Texas, Carson County, Texas, United States. The population was 552 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas Amarillo metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is ...

, a town in Carson County, Texas, United States, location of the second largest cross in the western hemisphere *

Division of Groom The Division of Groom is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Groom is an Agriculture in Australia, agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. I ...

, a Commonwealth Electoral Division in Queensland, Australia * Groom Lake (salt flat), a geographic feature of the United States Military Area 51 * Groom Range, a mountain range in Nevada, United States

People

* Groom (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)

Insult

* Groomer and OK groomer as an insult.

Film and television

* '' The Groom'', a 2016 Russian comedy film * ''Groomed'' (film), a 2021 American documentary film * ''Groomed'' (TV series), a Canadian reality show

Grooming

Abuse

Sexual grooming Sexual grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a vulnerable person – generally a minor under the age of consent – and sometimes the victim's family, to lower their inhibitions with the objective of se ...

, using non-violent means to normalize sexual abuse

Hygiene and cleanliness

Dog grooming Dog grooming refers to the hygienic care of a dog, a process by which a dog's physical appearance is altered or enhanced. A dog groomer (or simply "groomer") is a professional that is responsible for maintaining a dog’s hygiene and appearance b ...

, the care provided for a dog's physical appearance (especially its coat and nails), or specific work done to enhance its appearance for a show * Grooming (cross country skiing), preparing cross-country skiing trails *

Horse grooming Horse grooming is hygienic care given to a horse, or a process by which the horse's physical appearance is enhanced for horse shows or other types of competition. Reasons for grooming Grooming is an important part of horse care. Grooming a horse ...

, the daily hygienic care provided for horses, or specific work done on the horse to enhance its physical appearance for a show *

Male grooming Male grooming refers to men paying attention to fashion and enhancing their own appearance. This interest has become increasingly apparent in popular culture. Background and history By location According to Statista, by 2024 the global male ...

, specific work done by men to enhance their physical appearance, or daily hygiene care done by men *

Personal grooming Grooming (also called preening) is the art and practice of cleaning and maintaining parts of the body. It is a species-typical behavior. In animals Individual animals regularly clean themselves and put their fur, feathers or other skin c ...

, or

preening Preening is a found in birds that involves the use of the beak to position feathers, interlock feather that have become separated, clean plumage, and keep ectoparasites in check. Feathers contribute significantly to a bird's insulation, waterp ...

, in humans and other animals, a hygienic activity (caring for physical appearance) *

Snow grooming Snow grooming is the process of manipulating snow for recreational uses with a tractor, snowmobile, piste caterpillar, truck or snowcat towing specialized equipment. The process is used to maintain ski hills, cross-country ski trails and snow ...

, the process of preparing snow for recreational uses, such as skiing *

Social grooming Social grooming is a behavior in which social animals, including humans, clean or maintain one another's bodies or appearances. A related term, allogrooming, indicates social grooming between members of the same species. Grooming is a major s ...

, behavior between humans and other animals who live in proximity, helping bond and reinforce social structures

Recruitment or indoctrination

Sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...

, using the 'loverboy method' to recruit victims into prostitution. *

Acquired homosexuality Acquired homosexuality is the idea that homosexuality can be spread, either through sexual seduction or recruitment by homosexuals, or through exposure to media depicting homosexuality. According to this belief, any child or young person could bec ...

, accusations of LGBTQ people grooming (recruiting) members. *

LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory The LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBTQ trope alleging that LGBTQ people, and those supportive of LGBTQ rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse. Although the belief th ...

, homophobic and transphobic conspiracy theory * Localized grooming, also known as grooming gangs or on-site grooming * Online youth radicalization, or grooming (recruiting) youth to join gangs or enact terrorism.

Technology

* Traffic grooming, a technical activity in telecommunications