grain

noun \ ˈgrān \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of grain

1 a (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

2 a (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

3 a : 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

4 a : 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

6 a : 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

8 a : natural disposition : temper

lying goes against my grain

b : a basic or characteristic quality

c : a prevalent ideology or convention

teaching against the grain

—

grained

play \ˈgrānd\ adjective

—

grainless

adjective

See grain defined for English-language learners

See grain defined for kids

Examples of grain in a Sentence

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 of grain from the Web

Why would states bother to pass laws that run against the grain of federal law — and are therefore almost certain to be overturned by the courts?

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "What Would a Post–Roe v. Wade America Look Like?," 3 June 2018
The restaurant offers healthy grain bowls as well as more indulgent duck-fat tater tots (rooms from $189).

— elaine glusac, New York Times, "Your Next Trip Might Change Your Life," 1 June 2018
Grab your finest ceramic bowl or, more realistically, an Ikea plate, and lay down a bed of rice to get this grain bowl going.

— aliza abarbanel, Bon Appetit, "A Spicy Pork Tenderloin Bowl That's So Easy You Hardly Need This Recipe," 30 May 2018
Everything about their new way of life goes against the grain for Will, who remains determined to raise his daughter holistically.

— andrea mandell, USA TODAY, "New dad Ben Foster talks 'mighty humbling' parenthood and 'Leave No Trace' at Cannes," 15 May 2018
Still, the senator who has defined his political career by going against the grain of party norms is doing it again in what may be his last battle in a decades-long fight against torture.

— lisa mascaro and deb riechmann, Fox News, "Even from afar, McCain raises his voice against torture," 11 May 2018
There are, conservatively, 80 million grain bowl recipes out there.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "The Tedious Art of Making the Most Instagrammable Grain Bowl," 4 May 2018
Put the tangy green sauce on your morning egg and grain bowl or use it as a dip for chips (Hassan also has recipes integrating the sauces on her website).

— Vogue, "Hawa Hassan Is Bringing the Ketchup of Somalia to Your Kitchen," 14 Mar. 2018
Rest assured, healthy-eating folks: There will be lighter fare as well, like a grain bowl.

— adam lukach, RedEye Chicago, "Punch Bowl Social to feature VR gaming and local brews at upcoming Fulton Market location," 6 Mar. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of grain

Middle English, partly from Anglo-French grain cereal grain, from Latin granum; partly from Anglo-French graine seed, kermes, from Latin grana, plural of granum — more at corn

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

grain Synonyms

Synonyms

atom, bit, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, nugget, particle, patch, scrap, scruple, snip, snippet, speck, tittle;

Near Antonyms

chunk, gob, hunk, lump, slab;

abundance, barrel, bucket, bushel, deal, heaps, loads, mass, mountain, peck, pile, pot, profusion, quantity, raft, scads, stack, volume, wad, wealth;

bite, mouthful, nibble, tidbit (also titbit);

fragment, part, portion, section;

chip, flake, shard, shiver, sliver, splinter;

clipping, paring, shaving;

smithereens;

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

grain

verb

Definition of grain

grained; graining; grains

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

—

grainer

noun

Recent Examples of grain from the Web

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

First Known Use of grain

1530

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

GRAIN Defined for English Language Learners

grain

noun

Definition of grain for English Language Learners

: the seeds of plants (such as wheat, corn, and rice) that are used for food; also : a single seed of wheat, corn, rice, etc.
: a plant that produces grain
: a small, hard piece of something

GRAIN Defined for Kids

grain

noun \ ˈgrān \

Definition of grain for Students

1 : the edible seed or seeds of some grasses (as wheat, corn, or oats) or a few other plants (as buckwheat)

2 : plants that produce grain

3 : a small hard particle

a grain of sand

4 : a tiny amount

a grain of truth

5 : a unit of weight equal to 0.0648 gram

6 : the arrangement of fibers in wood

—

grained

\ˈgrānd\ adjective

Medical Dictionary

grain

noun \ ˈgrān \

medical Definition of grain

1 a : a seed or fruit of a cereal grass

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

c : plants producing grain

2 : a small hard particle or crystal (as of sand or salt)

3 : a unit of avoirdupois, Troy, and apothecaries' weight equal to 0.0648 gram or 0.002286 avoirdupois ounce or 0.002083 Troy ounce —abbreviation gr

Learn More about grain

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for grain Spanish Central: Translation of grain Nglish: Translation of grain for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of grain for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about grain

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grain

Definition of grain

grained

grainless

Examples of grain in a Sentence

Recent Examples of grain from the Web

Origin and Etymology of grain

grain Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Seed Plant Terms

grain

Definition of grain

grainer

Recent Examples of grain from the Web

First Known Use of grain

Phrases Related to GRAIN

Related Phrases

GRAIN Defined for English Language Learners

grain

Definition of grain for English Language Learners

GRAIN Defined for Kids

grain

Definition of grain for Students

grained

Medical Dictionary

grain

medical Definition of grain

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