Grasmere is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England, and situated in the centre of the Lake District and named after its adjacent lake. Grasmere lies within the historic county of Westmorland. The Ambleside and Grasmere ward had an estimated population of 4,592 in 2019. William and Dorothy Wordsworth, two of the 'Lake Poets', lived in Grasmere for 14 years and called it "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found."

One possibility is "the lake (mere) flanked by grass." Although early spellings with "Grys-" or "Gris(s)-" might suggest Old Norse "griss", meaning "young pig" as the first element, evidence points to the Old English/Old Norse "gres", meaning grass, with the modern form influenced by Standard English. The medial "-s(s)e-" may, as suggested by Ekwall, point to the Old Norse "gres-saer" or "grass-lake" as the original name. The element "mere" refers to a still extant word meaning "lake" or "pool".

The village is on the River Rothay, which flows into Grasmere lake about 1⁄3 mile (500 metres) to the south. The village is overlooked from the north-west by the rocky hill of Helm Crag, popularly known as The Lion and the Lamb or the Old Lady at the organ. These names derive from the shape of rock formations on its summit, depending on the side from which it is viewed.

The several walks that begin in the village include the ascent of Helm Crag, a longer route up to Fairfield, and a moderate 600' (200-metre) ascent to Easedale Tarn. The village is also on the route of Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk.

The main A591 road connects Grasmere to the Vale of Keswick over Dunmail Raise to the north, and to Ambleside to the south. In other directions, Grasmere is surrounded by high ground. (At Christmas 2015, the A591 was washed away on the Keswick side of Dunmail Raise, causing traffic to make a long detour. It reopened in May 2016.) To the west, a long ridge comes down from High Raise and contains the lesser heights of Blea Rigg and Silver How. To the east, Grasmere is bordered by the western ridge of the Fairfield horseshoe.

Grasmere lies on the main A591 road between Keswick and Kendal.

All the buses in Grasmere are run by Stagecoach.

The nearest railway station is Windermere, located nine miles (14 kilometres) away; the mentioned bus routes provide direct access to and from the station. Windermere has trains to Manchester Airport and a shuttle route to Oxenholme Lake District. Services are run by Northern and use the Class 195.