grind 1 of 6

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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3
4

grind

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verb (1)

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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6

grind (down)

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verb (2)

as in to overwhelm
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress the workers are being ground down by the long work hours which leave them little time for anything else

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grind (out)

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verb (3)

grinding

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verb (4)

present participle of grind
1
2
as in gritting
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 sharpening
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
5
as in scratching
to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface ground the rock against the stone wall

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6

grinding

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adjective

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 grinding
Verb
Ed Helms is looking back on the grind of working on The Hangover and The Office simultaneously. Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 17 Aug. 2025 The Pepper Cannon also adjusts easily to so many different grind sizes. Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
Runners grind up Powerline, battle through Sugarloaf, and face the thin air atop Hope Pass at 12,500 feet, where oxygen is scarce and determination is tested. Jenn Nelson, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025 Some examples of heavy-duty tasks would be grinding meat or kneading dough. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
With the prior landscaping experience, he was assigned outdoor duties ranging from climbing onto the roof to clean gutters, to scraping sediment from a parking lot, laying pine straw, and grinding paint from a stairwell. John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025 The Aggies play grinding, slugging basketball and will surely force a Saturday night rock fight. Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for grinding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinding
Noun
  • But building a domestic supply chain from scratch isn’t easy.
    Merritt Enright, CNBC, 8 Aug. 2025
  • The start-up, which is today announcing a $70 million Series B funding round, has built a new accounting software package from scratch, utilising AI tools to work through an organisation’s financial data.
    David Prosser, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • This is the kind of thing that Jenkins, a journalist and prolific documentarian, specialized in: connecting the dots in a way that was insightful, enlightening, fun and pure catnip for cross-pop-cultural nerds.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2025
  • That distillery is a favorite of many whiskey nerds, mostly for its sourced whiskeys that are blended by Drew Kulsveen and his team.
    Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 July 2025
Noun
  • Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired an emergency meeting on the cloudburst and subsequent rescue efforts in the capital Islamabad on Friday.
    Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Fundraising efforts and private donations made to the Kane County 4-H Foundation funded the scholarships.
    Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • While maintaining a strict cleansing and conditioning regimen is recommended, a nourishing scalp scrub seamlessly elevates your wash day routine with a deep clean.
    Tatayana Yomary, Essence, 12 Aug. 2025
  • This is one reason why people use coconut oil as part of their skin and oral care routines. 5.
    Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 11 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Keep any injuries, cuts, or scrapes clean and disinfected.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 10 Aug. 2025
  • The Florida Department of Health warns against entering the water with fresh cuts or scrapes and advises immunocompromised individuals to wear protective footwear to avoid injuries from rocks and shells on the beach.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Think Chicago Auto Show but for NASCAR devotees and all kinds of car geeks.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2025
  • The upcoming Alien television series crash landed into Comic-Con with a blockbuster Hall H panel that got thousands of geeks sitting on the edge of their seats to an encroaching otherworldly horror.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025
Noun
  • Preparing For Inbound Shipments Historically, warehouse managers used static storage plans and reactive labor scheduling to handle inbound shipments.
    Michael Amori, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Exactly how much difference this boost will make in the Golden State depends on many factors, including tariffs, labor costs, state funding, and more.
    CalMatters, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Jack tried his hand at feeding a baby cow in another shot before finding a groove while welding.
    Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Styled by Law Roach, the tight end got in the modeling groove on the set of his Florida Everglades cover shoot, which featured, more often than not, a shirtless Kelce revealing his chest hair.
    Michelle Lee, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Grinding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinding. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.

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