Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Grade \Grade\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Graded}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Grading}.]
   1. To arrange in order, steps, or degrees, according to size,
      quality, rank, etc.

   2. To reduce to a level, or to an evenly progressive ascent,
      as the line of a canal or road.

   3. (Stock Breeding) To cross with some better breed; to
      improve the blood of.

Grading \Grad"ing\, n.
   The act or method of arranging in or by grade, or of
   bringing, as the surface of land or a road, to the desired
   level or grade.

Source : WordNet®

grading
     n 1: the act of arranging in a graduated series [syn: {scaling}]
     2: changing the ground level to a smooth horizontal or gently
        sloping surface [syn: {leveling}]
     3: evaluation of performance by assigning a grade or score;
        "what he disliked about teaching was all the grading he
        had to do" [syn: {marking}, {scoring}]