grind

verb

\ ˈgrīnd

ground\ˈgrau̇nd

\; grinding

Definition of grind

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as in a mill or with the teeth) grind the coffee beans

2 : to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction grind an ax

3a : oppress, harass tyrants who grind their subjects

b : to weaken or destroy gradually —usually used with down poverty ground her spirit down

4a : to press together with a rotating motion grind the teeth

b : to rub or press harshly ground the cigarette out

5 : to operate or produce by turning a crank grind a hand organ

intransitive verb

1 : to perform the operation of grinding

2 : to become pulverized, polished, or sharpened by friction

3 : to move with difficulty or friction especially so as to make a grating noise gears grinding

4 : drudge especially : to study hard grind for an exam

5 : to rotate the hips in an erotic manner

grind

noun

Definition of grind (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : an act of grinding

b : the sound of grinding

2a : dreary, monotonous, or difficult labor, study, or routine the dull grind of office work

b : one who works or studies excessively a grind who never goes to parties

3 : the result of grinding also : material ground to a particular degree of fineness a drip grind of coffee

4 : an action of rotating the hips in an erotic manner (as in a dance or in a burlesque striptease act) — compare bump entry 1 sense 3

Other Words from grind Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about grind

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Synonyms & Antonyms for grind

Synonyms: Verb

edge, hone, sharpen, strop, whet

Synonyms: Noun

drudgery, labor, slavery, sweat, toil, travail

Antonyms: Verb

blunt, dull

Antonyms: Noun

fun, play

Choose the Right Synonym for grind

Noun

work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion. work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force. too tired to do any work labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion. farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering. years of travail were lost when the house burned toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor. his lot would be years of back-breaking toil drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor. an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body. the grind of the assembly line

Examples of grind in a Sentence

Verb

The corn is ground into meal. The steel grinds to a sharp edge. She kept grinding the car's gears. He grinds his teeth in his sleep. I could hear the gears grinding.

Noun

I need a break from the daily grind. the dull grind of office work

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Still, this is a trend that’s unlikely to grind to a halt anytime soon. — Madeline Buxton, refinery29.com, "How Scooters Became A Go-To Instagram Prop — & The Next Transportation Revolution," 12 July 2018 Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind peppercorns and coriander, separately, to a medium-fine powder. — Kitty Greenwald, WSJ, "The Recipe, The Legend: Bombay Bread Bar’s Black Pepper Shrimp," 12 July 2018 Thousands of wind turbines from Germany to the U.K. are set to grind to a halt next week, cutting electricity supplies at the same time as the next wave of hot weather arrives. — Lars Paulsson, Bloomberg.com, "Europe’s Electricity Supply Could Drop Just in Time for the Next Blast of Heat," 22 June 2018 That prompted the company to declare its operations were grinding to a halt just weeks later. — Bloomberg, Fortune, "Why ZTE Shares Are Plunging Again," 19 June 2018 The upshot is that a MANET with more than about 30 nodes starts to experience problems, and one with more than about 50 will grind to a halt. — The Economist, "A new type of battlefield network is in development," 14 June 2018 But the market is also the thing that may ultimately grind the city to a halt. — Sean Patrick Cooper, The New Republic, "Is America Ready for the Next Superstorm?," 4 June 2018 This is, for home cooks, a very good thing, because DeBragga grinds the trimmings from wholesale steaks and roasts into burger meat, adding a judicious amount of dry-aged brisket. — Ruth Reichl, Town & Country, "The Best Hamburgers Start with Dry-Aged Beef," 28 May 2018 That funding could soon grind to a halt, largely because many people don’t trust lawmakers in Sacramento to spend the money as intended. — Joshua Emerson Smith, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Where is San Diego's gas tax money going?," 13 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Still, the nonstop grind shows signs of paying off. — Bailey Bischoff, The Christian Science Monitor, "Life of first-time candidate: 16-hour days, piles of paperwork – and enthusiasm," 25 Apr. 2018 In fact it's been kind of a grind, the last two knockout games after the 4-3 against Argentina. — Grant Wahl And Brian Straus, SI.com, "World Cup Daily Podcast: How Finalists France, Croatia Mirror Their 1998 Teams," 12 July 2018 The baseball season is so long and such a grind, to have somebody who is always so upbeat is nice. — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres notes: Carlos Asuaje's positive effect; injury updates," 6 July 2018 Perhaps better than anyone, Warriors coach Steve Kerr understands the grind, both mental and physical, so many deep playoff runs can exact on a franchise. — K.c. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Warriors' dominance should be celebrated, not criticized," 3 July 2018 Add a few grinds of black pepper and the lemon zest. — Nick Marino, New York Times, "A Food Artist’s Surprisingly Low-Key Recipe (That She Eats With Her Hands)," 2 July 2018 Three years ago, Lugo was still on the grind: He could be seen at art fairs charging $20 for cups and $200 for large jars. — Cassie Owens, Philly.com, "Throwing down: How this potter from Kensington found fine art success," 26 June 2018 To figure out how to navigate the grind, the expectations and the knowledge that the first 82 games of the season don’t really mean much. — Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, "Steve Kerr pushed right buttons with Warriors," 10 June 2018 Air travel has a reputation for being quite the grind, with its outdated terminals, underwhelming food at overwhelming prices, and too many opportunities to see people without shoes on. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "Inside the World’s Best Airport," 27 Mar. 2018

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