grist

noun

ˈgrist 

1

a

: grain or a batch of grain for grinding

b

: the product obtained from a grist of grain including the flour or meal and the grain offals

2

: a required or usual amount

3

: matter of interest or value forming the basis of a story or analysis

4

: something turned to advantage or use

—used especially in the phrase grist for one's mill

As a writer, he uses his unusual childhood as grist for his mill.

Examples of grist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Stroll past the historic school and grist mill to find natural treasures along the trails that stretch through bluffs and other dramatic rock formations. —Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Midwest Living, 20 Apr. 2026

This is grist for the psychoanalytic mill. —Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026

But Liz and Dick aren’t the only other Hollywood couples whose off-screen love story would provide so much grist for the mill. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026

But that’s clearly a deliberate choice, perhaps on the reasonable ground that there has been more than enough tabloidification of these two without a new opera adding grist. —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English grīst; akin to Old English grindan to grind

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing grist

• grist for one's/the mill
• grist to one's/the mill

Rhymes for grist

• cist
• cyst
• fist
• gist
• hissed
• kissed
• kist
• list
• missed
• mist
• schist
• tryst

Kids Definition

grist

noun

ˈgrist 

: grain to be ground or already ground