grain

noun

\ ˈgrān

Definition of grain

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1) obsolete : a single small hard seed

(2) : a seed or fruit of a cereal grass : caryopsis

b : the seeds or fruits of various food plants including the cereal grasses and in commercial and statutory usage other plants (such as the soybean)

c : plants producing grain

2a(1) : a small hard particle or crystal

(2) : any of the particles produced in a photographic material by its development also : the size of such grains in the aggregate

(3) : an individual crystal in a metal

b : a minute portion or particle

c : the least amount possible a grain of truth

3a : kermes or a scarlet dye made from it

b : cochineal or a brilliant scarlet dye made from it

c : a fast dye

d archaic : color, tint

4a : a granulated surface or appearance

b : the outer or hair side of a skin or hide

5 : a unit of weight based on the weight of a grain of wheat taken as an average of the weight of grains from the middle of the ear — see Weights and Measures Table

6a : the stratification of the wood fibers in a piece of wood

b : a texture due to constituent particles or fibers the grain of a rock

c : the direction of threads in cloth

7 : tactile quality

8a : natural disposition : temper lying goes against my grain

b : a basic or characteristic quality

c : a prevalent ideology or convention teaching against the grain

grain

verb

grained; graining; grains

Definition of grain (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : ingrain

2 : to form into grains : granulate

3 : to paint in imitation of the grain of wood or stone

4 : to feed with grain

intransitive verb

: to become granular : granulate

Other Words from grain Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about grain

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Other Words from grain

Noun

grained \ ˈgrānd

\ adjective

grainless adjective

Verb

grainer noun

Examples of grain in a Sentence

Noun

bread made from whole wheat grain The machine grinds grain into flour. The farm grows a variety of grains. Anyone with a grain of sense knows that she's lying. There is not a grain of truth in what he said.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The signature silhouette, the Numéro Un Mini ($330), comes in a variety of leather combinations—calfskin suede, full-grain textured—and hues like forest green or sand. — Sara Lieberman, WSJ, "Four New Handbag Lines Promise Euro Chic—For Under $1,000," 25 Mar. 2019 Make the Apricot Mustard: Whisk together apricot jam, whole-grain mustard, and Dijon mustard in a bowl. — Kate Merker, Country Living, "Ham Biscuit Sandwiches With Apricot Mustard," 18 Mar. 2019 His favorite recipe to date is Garten's crispy chicken thighs with a sauce made of wine, crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, and whole-grain mustard. — Rose Minutaglio, Town & Country, "I'm Cooking Every Single Ina Garten Recipe. Here's What I've So Far Learned From the Barefoot Contessa.," 5 Feb. 2019 The Gold Rush adds rough suede that overlaps the full-grain leather that Huckberry says reflects the history of its hometown (San Francisco), the grittiness of Gold Rush with the refined city of today. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "Danner and Huckberry Team Up To Create Our New Favorite City Boot," 28 Jan. 2019 Drink the milk on its own, or pair with your favorite whole-grain cereal. — Amy Gorin, NBC News, "10 non-smoothie recipes you can make in your blender," 25 June 2018 My younger self probably passed it by out of fear of trying short-grain rice that wasn’t arborio. — Julia Tausch, Bon Appetit, "'The Cranks Bible' Is the Only Vegetarian Cookbook I'll Ever Need," 13 June 2018 The calorie difference depends on the size of the bread, not to mention the fact that one is a whole grain, while the other is a synthetic protein source! — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About the Military Diet, According to a Nutritionist," 11 Dec. 2018 These plant products are the likely ancestors of modern grains like barley and oats. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Archeologists Find World's Oldest Bread," 17 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Within 15 minutes, a portion of this radioactive dust — mostly grains the size of salt or sand — would begin to fall directly on the city. — Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018 The raw flesh of the fish is opalescent, fine-grained and smooth and nearly translucent, with a flavor to match. — Ben Lowy, Smithsonian, "The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back," 23 May 2018 As in other full-size pickups at this price, the dashboard is largely made up of hard plastics, although their graining looks nice and most critical touch points inside the F-150 are made from softer materials. — Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, "2018 Ford F-150 2.7L EcoBoost V-6 4x2 SuperCrew," 9 Mar. 2018 Very few interior panels are soft to the touch, but the vast expanses of hard plastic are nicely grained and don’t feel cheap. — Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, "2018 Hyundai Accent," 24 Jan. 2018 The official data were not fine-grained enough to reveal such patterns. — The Economist, "Punk scienceDo-it-yourself Science is taking off," 16 Dec. 2017 Because there were, on average, 20 routers in each station in the pilot, London’s data are quite fine-grained. — Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine, "A brilliant experiment is helping the London subway find out how people really travel.," 16 Oct. 2017 That said, his big, coarse-grained, penetrating sound carried forcefully to the back of the house. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Vocal sparks fly in Lyric Opera's riveting 'Rigoletto'," 8 Oct. 2017 Interior Features A simple dashboard is dressed up nicely with finely grained, soft-touch plastics and, on the Ultimate trim, open-pore wood veneer that looks upscale—although some materials aren’t as nice as those in rival luxury sedans. — Michael Simari, Car and Driver, "2018 Genesis G80," 3 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.