grating

1 of 2

noun

grat·​ing ˈgrā-tiŋ 

1

: a wooden or metal lattice used to close or floor an opening

2

: a partition, covering, or frame of parallel bars or crossbars

3

: a system of close equidistant and parallel lines or bars ruled on a polished surface to produce spectra by diffraction

grating

2 of 2

adjective

: causing irritation or annoyance

a grating habit

It's not just that the interruptions themselves are grating to watch: what's worse is the hostilities they create.

—Heather Schwedel

often : having a harsh or unpleasant sound

a grating voice/accent

If you just imagined that last quote spoken in Gottfried's grating, obnoxious yelling, that's now how you would hear him on the phone.

—Blake Hannon

The truck braked noisily with a grating shriek of steel.

—Mildred D. Taylor

gratingly adverb

a gratingly harsh sound

Something in Orcutt's proprietary manner had irritated her at that first meeting, something she found gratingly egotistical in his expansive courtesy …

—Philip Roth

Synonyms

Adjective

• loud
• harsh
• grotesque
• jarring
• ugly

Examples of grating in a Sentence

Adjective

the mix of colors in that painting is terribly grating

with a grating voice, she croaked a feeble "hello"

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Every subsequent scene in which people eat features loud, grating sounds of chewing that only ratchet up the tension. —Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2025

Then, the grand reveal — as guests dining at Bruto were treated to a tableside bison-heart grating. —Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 7 Aug. 2025

Adjective

As an experienced home chef myself, these 10 picks under $30 have saved me hours chopping vegetables, struggling with pesky jars, and grating cheese. —Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025

The scale of that tragedy may be what makes Harris’s complaints seem so petty, however well founded many of them may be, and her deflection of responsibility so grating. —Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1563, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing grating

• diffraction grating

Rhymes for grating

• baiting
• bating
• crating
• dating
• freighting
• gating
• hating
• mating
• plaiting
• plating
• prating
• rating

Kids Definition

grating

noun

grat·​ing

ˈgrāt-iŋ

1

: a frame of parallel bars or crossbars

2

: a transparent surface that is ruled with a series of very closely spaced parallel lines or bars and is used to produce spectra by the diffraction of light

Medical Definition

grating

noun

grat·​ing ˈgrāt-iŋ 

: a system of close equidistant and parallel lines or bars ruled on a polished surface to produce spectra by diffraction

called also diffraction grating