grind

1 of 2

verb

ˈgrīnd 

ground ˈgrau̇nd  ; grinding

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

3

a

: oppress, harass

tyrants who grind their subjects

b

: to weaken or destroy gradually

—usually used with down

poverty ground her spirit down

4

a

: 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

grindingly

ˈgrīn-diŋ-lē 

adverb

grind

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: an act of grinding

b

: the sound of grinding

2

a

: 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

Synonyms

Verb

• buff
• file
• hone
• rasp
• rub
• sand

Noun

• creak
• jar
• rasp
• scrape
• scratch

Choose the Right Synonym for grind

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

These interests, the thinking goes, feed into a culture that grinds the spirits of bright young women into pixie dust by insisting that their outward appearance is ultimately more important than their actions. —Faran Krentcil, The Atlantic, 14 May 2025

Things got worse after the emergence of Covid, which ground global trade to a halt and exposed how much the United States, and the rest of the world, needed China for everything from surgical masks to pain medicines. —David Pierson, New York Times, 10 May 2025

Noun

Many of the artists who recently enjoyed major breakthroughs triumphed in their mid-twenties after long grinds. —Elias Leight, Billboard, 16 May 2025

To highlight just how many players are needed to survive the grind. —Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 15 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, from Old English grindan; akin to Latin frendere to crush, grind

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing grind

• axe to grind
• grind along
• grind away
• grind down
• grind house
• grind on
• grind out
• grind to a halt

Rhymes for grind

• bind
• blind
• dined
• find
• fined
• hind
• kind
• lined
• mind
• mined
• pined
• rind

Kids Definition

grind

1 of 2 verb

ˈgrīnd 

ground ˈgrau̇nd  ; grinding

1

: to reduce to powder or pieces by friction (as in a mill or with the teeth)

2

: to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction : whet

3

: to press with a scraping noise : grit

4

: oppress sense 2, harass

5

a

: to operate or produce by turning a crank

b

: to produce by steady hard work

grind out an essay

6

: to move with difficulty or friction especially so as to make a scraping noise

grind the gears

grind

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: an act of grinding

b

: the sound of grinding

2

a

: steady hard work

especially : study that takes much effort

b

: a student who studies too much

3

: the result of grinding

especially : the size of particle obtained by grinding

Medical Definition

grind

transitive verb

ˈgrīnd 

ground ˈgrau̇nd  ; grinding

1

: to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as with the teeth)

2

: to press together and move with a rotating or back-and-forth motion see bruxism