the nitty-gritty

noun

informal

: the most important and basic facts or details about something

He deals with the nitty-gritty of running the department.

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty and find out what happened.

Examples of the nitty-gritty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While both are offensively inclined, the nitty-gritty of Dobson and Hutson’s game differs. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 10 July 2025

For those of us who’ve daydreamed about blowing up our art lives to become public defenders, the nitty-gritty coverage in pieces like this one covering Minnesota’s pre-trial system is most welcome. —Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 July 2025

The idea was to project an attitude that will then filter into the nitty-gritty of new ready-to-wear and accessories collections. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 27 June 2025

America, América focuses more on big-picture ideology than on the nitty-gritty mechanics of resistance. —Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025

Rhymes for the nitty-gritty

• atomicity
• catholicity
• ellipticity
• historicity
• mutuality
• bitty
• city
• ditty
• gritty
• kitty
• nitty
• pity