electrostatics - Direction of Potential Gradient & Electric field

Potential gradient is the negative of the electric field:

$dV=-\vec{E}\cdot \operatorname{d}\!\vec{r}$

Does the negative sign mean that the direction of potential gradient $\operatorname{d}\!V\!/\!\operatorname{d}\!\vec{r}$ is opposite to that of the electric field $\vec{E}$? And if it does mean so, why is its direction opposite to the field? Explanations would be helpful.