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Gritty comes from grit ("small hard granules"), which in turn derives, via Middle English, from an Old English word for "sand" or "gravel." Grit has been around since before the 12th century, but the first appearance of gritty in print in English was near the end of the 16th century, when it was used in the sense of "resembling or containing small hard granules." Grit entered American slang with the meaning "courage or persistence" in the early 19th century, and gritty followed suit with a corresponding "plucky" sense. By the 19th century's end, gritty was also being used to describe a literary style that was rough and coarse.
Examples of gritty in a Sentence
Abby Dodge, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Larter currently stars alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Jon Hamm in the original Paramount+ series Landman—a gritty drama that explores the quest for oil in the wide open spaces of West Texas.
—Ayana Underwood, Outside, 2 Mar. 2026
His high-effort rebounding and tenacious shot-blocking became the focal point of the Red Storm’s gritty identity.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2026
The Pistons are gritty, but the salient quality of Cunningham’s game is its smoothness.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Gritty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gritty. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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