grind 1 of 2

1
as in scratch
a harsh grating sound the grind of ice in the blender sent the cat running from the room

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2
as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits don't be such a grind—go out with your friends and enjoy yourself

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grind

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction after they are ground and polished, these stones can be used for jewelry

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2
as in to grit
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound everyone in the car winced when the driver ground the gears trying to shift into second

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3
as in to sharpen
to make sharp or sharper better grind down that ax before you even think about trying to cut down that tree

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4
as in to polish
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure used the finest polishing paper he could to grind down the facets of the diamond before dusting it with a soft cloth

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5
as in to scratch
to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface ground the rock against the stone wall

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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun grind contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of grind are drudgery, labor, toil, travail, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When might drudgery be a better fit than grind?

In some situations, the words drudgery and grind are roughly equivalent. However, drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When would labor be a good substitute for grind?

While the synonyms labor and grind are close in meaning, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

When is toil a more appropriate choice than grind?

The words toil and grind are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

When could travail be used to replace grind?

The synonyms travail and grind are sometimes interchangeable, but travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

In what contexts can work take the place of grind?

The meanings of work and grind largely overlap; however, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grind
Noun
But, in Dick’s opinion, Charlie grew tired of baseball’s daily grind. Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 22 June 2025 The same is true for the NCAA insisting that students don’t qualify as employees of the colleges, despite the full-time daily grind of most players; colleges thereby save the vast expense of entering into an actual commercial relationship with their work force. Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
Verb
The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred Tuesday, quickly drew the nation’s attention back to the grinding conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel and Iran. Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2025 But that prerogative to chase self-actualization at all costs brings with it the dread of failure, as heavy as the booming drums that ground the album’s otherwise spry arrangements. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for grind
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grind
Noun
  • Without this infrastructure, every applications needs to rebuild the plumbing from scratch.
    David G.W. Birch, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
  • Order your pizza and, within five minutes, a robot would craft your pie from scratch, no human hands required.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2025
Noun
  • As a film nerd with a 37-inch vertical, Nique Clifford only borrows from the best.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 June 2025
  • Music supervisor is a job that is part professional music nerd, part aural detective and part crate-digging business affairs exec.
    Peter White, Deadline, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • Separate efforts by the United Nations to distribute limited food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys.
    Wafaa Shurafa, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2025
  • Botswana is also investing in mitigation efforts by phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and promoting various energy efficiency measures.
    Kyle Roderick, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • Don't Buy Expensive Tween Skincare Not only will your money be wasted trying to perfect a skincare routine for tweens, but a study in Pediatrics found that elaborate skincare products can be harmful to young skin and may even spark chronic conditions like allergic dermatitis.
    Chaunie Brusie, Parents, 7 July 2025
  • The goal is that participants learn a 30-second routine but the class uses several moves similar to those used in other dance fitness classes, like Zumba, the couple said.
    Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025
Verb
  • Once the eggs are harvested, they’re gently rubbed over a metal screen to remove them from the fish’s ovaries, then rinsed, dried and salted before being packed away in blue tins.
    Kylie Williams, Miami Herald, 29 June 2025
  • Gently rub while rinsing to remove any dirt or excess fuzz.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • Perhaps our best hope right now might be to grit our teeth about AGI as a north star, push the AI community to realize the dangers and pitfalls therein, and do our darnedest to overcome the downsides.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
  • From bouncing back in elimination games to stringing together dominant wins in the state semifinal, Aledo has played with urgency, intensity, and grit through five series victories.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • This sharpens the focus on customer outcomes and transforms vague ideas into concrete solutions.
    Jaime Vallés, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • When Mercury enters your sign on June 26, your ability to communicate your needs and boundaries sharpens.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • Other procedures like polishing restorations, ceramic crowns, using elastics, orthodontic appliances, and so on can generate particles.
    Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • Most people think stand-up comics spend decades polishing their act to get good at telling jokes.
    Nate Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grind.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grind. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

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