grind down
verb
ground down; grinding down; grinds down
1
: to make (something hard) smaller and smoother by gradual rubbing
2
: to weaken or destroy gradually
Poverty ground her spirit down.
Examples of grind down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To get inflation down to the Fed’s goal of 2%, for example, may require the unpopular choice to keep interest rates high and grind down on the economy for a while.
—
Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
What happened next was a lesson in how the small business lending system can grind down even the most resilient entrepreneurs.
—Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Moscow knows this, but keeps going back to it in the hope that eventually Trump is ground down into seeing this concession as a necessary part of any solution.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025
And so the Jays did, piling up one quality at-bat after another, grinding down Snell, pounding the Dodgers’ suspect bullpen.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grind down
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Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
What happened next was a lesson in how the small business lending system can grind down even the most resilient entrepreneurs.
—Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Moscow knows this, but keeps going back to it in the hope that eventually Trump is ground down into seeing this concession as a necessary part of any solution.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025
And so the Jays did, piling up one quality at-bat after another, grinding down Snell, pounding the Dodgers’ suspect bullpen.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grind down
Cite this Entry
“Grind down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grind%20down. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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