nitty-gritty

noun

nit·​ty-grit·​ty ˌni-tē-ˈgri-tē How to pronounce nitty-gritty (audio)
ˈni-tē-ˌgri-
: what is essential and basic : specific practical details
get down to the nitty-gritty of the problem
nitty-gritty adjective

Examples of nitty-gritty in a Sentence

the governor tends to leave the nitty-gritty of running the state government to others a look at the nitty-gritty aspects of putting out a newspaper
Recent Examples on the Web Watson, in his first day of testimony, put some distance between himself and the financial nitty-gritty at fast-growing Ozy. Jennifer Peltz, Fortune, 2 July 2024 Agencies use their expertise to turn broad-brush statutes into nitty-gritty policies, and the courts intervene only in extreme circumstances. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 June 2024 There, the two talked about the joyful nitty-gritty of not only poetry, but the poets' wellspring, life. Scott Hocker, theweek, 16 Apr. 2024 These hearings are going to be a lot of nitty-gritty details about App Store guidelines. Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 8 May 2024 That makes the underlying football nitty-gritty interesting, too. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024 The ads, says Braff, spur people to come up to him and ask for nitty-gritty details about T-Mobile’s various consumer plans. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Feb. 2024 But evolutionary explanations don’t get at the deeper problem: How, in a nitty-gritty mechanistic sense, do these patterns develop in individual animals? Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 But getting on the ballot would still be a slog of grass-roots grunt work and legal nitty-gritty that varies from state to state. Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nitty-gritty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nitty-gritty was in 1934

Dictionary Entries Near nitty-gritty

Cite this Entry

“Nitty-gritty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitty-gritty. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

nitty-gritty

noun
nit·​ty-grit·​ty
ˈnit-ē-ˌgrit-ē,
ˌnit-ē-ˈgrit-ē
: what is essential and basic
the nitty-gritty of the problem
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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