Adjacent Words

Grind definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GRIND, v.t. pret. and pp. ground. [This word, if n is radical, may be allied to rend; if not, it coincides with grate; to make smooth, as mollis in L., allied to molo.]
1. To break and reduce to fine particles or powder by friction; to comminute by attrition; to triturate.
Take the millstones and grind meal. Isaiah 16.
We say, to grind meal, but this is an elliptical phrase. The true phrase is, to grind corn to meal.
2. To break and reduce to small pieces by the teeth.
3. To sharpen by rubbing or friction; to wear off the substance of a metallic instrument, and reduce it to a sharp edge by the friction of a stone; as, to grind an ax or scythe.
4. To make smooth; to polish by friction; as, to grind glass.
5. To rub one against another.
Harsh sounds--and the grinding of one stone against another, make a shivering or horror in the body and set the teeth on edge.
6. To oppress by severe exactions; to afflict cruelly; to harass; as, to grind the faces of the poor Isaiah 3.
7. To crush in pieces; to ruin. Matthew 21.
8. To grate; as grinding pains.
GRIND, v.i. To perform the operation of grinding; to move a mill.
1. To be moved or rubbed together, as in the operation of grinding; as the grinding jaws.
2. To be ground or pulverized by friction.
Corn will not grind well before it is dry.
3. To be polished and made smooth by friction. Glass grinds smooth.
4. To be sharpened by grinding. Steel grinds to a fine edge.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious [syn: swot, grind, nerd, wonk, dweeb]
2: the grade of particle fineness to which a substance is ground; "a coarse grind of coffee"
3: hard monotonous routine work [syn: drudgery, plodding, grind, donkeywork]
4: the act of grinding to a powder or dust [syn: grind, mill, pulverization, pulverisation] v
1: press or grind with a crushing noise [syn: crunch, cranch, craunch, grind]
2: make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together; "grate one's teeth in anger" [syn: grate, grind]
3: work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil]
4: dance by rotating the pelvis in an erotically suggestive way, often while in contact with one's partner such that the dancers' legs are interlaced
5: reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading; "grind the spices in a mortar"; "mash the garlic" [syn: grind, mash, crunch, bray, comminute]
6: created by grinding; "grind designs into the glass bowl"
7: shape or form by grinding; "grind lenses for glasses and cameras"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (ground; grinding) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English grindan; akin to Latin frendere to crush, grind Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as in a mill or with the teeth) 2. to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction <grind an ax> 3. a. oppress, harass b. to weaken or destroy gradually — usually used with down <poverty ground her spirit down> 4. a. to press together with a rotating motion <grind the teeth> b. to rub or press harshly <ground the cigarette out> 5. to operate or produce by turning a crank <grind a hand organ> intransitive verb 1. to perform the operation of grinding 2. to become pulverized, polished, or sharpened by friction 3. to move with difficulty or friction especially so as to make a grating noise <gears grinding> 4. drudge; especially to study hard <grind for an exam> 5. to rotate the hips in an erotic manner • grindingly adverb II. noun Date: 13th century 1. a. an act of grinding b. the sound of grinding 2. a. dreary, monotonous, or difficult labor, study, or routine b. one who works or studies excessively 3. the result of grinding; also material ground to a particular degree of fineness <a drip grind of coffee> 4. the act of rotating the hips in an erotic manner Synonyms: see work

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (past and past part. ground) 1 a tr. reduce to small particles or powder by crushing esp. by passing through a mill. b intr. (of a mill, machine, etc.) move with a crushing action. 2 a tr. reduce, sharpen, or smooth by friction. b tr. & intr. rub or rub together gratingly (grind one's teeth). 3 tr. (often foll. by down) oppress; harass with exactions (grinding poverty). 4 intr. a (often foll. by away) work or study hard. b (foll. by out) produce with effort (grinding out verses). c (foll. by on) (of a sound) continue gratingly or monotonously. 5 tr. turn the handle of e.g. a coffee-mill, barrel-organ, etc. 6 intr. sl. (of a dancer) rotate the hips. 7 intr. coarse sl. have sexual intercourse. --n. 1 the act or an instance of grinding. 2 colloq. hard dull work; a laborious task (the daily grind). 3 the size of ground particles. 4 sl. a dancer's rotary movement of the hips. 5 coarse sl. an act of sexual intercourse. Phrases and idioms: grind to a halt stop laboriously. ground glass 1 glass made non-transparent by grinding etc. 2 glass ground to a powder. Derivatives: grindingly adv. Etymology: OE grindan, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grind Grind, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ground; p. pr. & vb. n. Grinding.] [AS. grindan; perh. akin to L. frendere to gnash, grind. Cf. Grist.] 1. To reduce to powder by friction, as in a mill, or with the teeth; to crush into small fragments; to produce as by the action of millstones. Take the millstones, and grind meal. --Is. xivii. 2. 2. To wear down, polish, or sharpen, by friction; to make smooth, sharp, or pointed; to whet, as a knife or drill; to rub against one another, as teeth, etc. 3. To oppress by severe exactions; to harass. To grind the subject or defraud the prince. --Dryden. 4. To study hard for examination. [College Slang]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grind Grind, v. i. 1. To perform the operation of grinding something; to turn the millstones. Send thee Into the common prison, there to grind. --Milton. 2. To become ground or pulverized by friction; as, this corn grinds well. 3. To become polished or sharpened by friction; as, glass grinds smooth; steel grinds to a sharp edge. 4. To move with much difficulty or friction; to grate. 5. To perform hard aud distasteful service; to drudge; to study hard, as for an examination. --Farrar.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grind Grind, n. 1. The act of reducing to powder, or of sharpening, by friction. 2. Any severe continuous work or occupation; esp., hard and uninteresting study. [Colloq.] --T. Hughes. 3. A hard student; a dig. [College Slang]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(grinds, grinding, ground) 1. If you grind a substance such as corn, you crush it between two hard surfaces or with a machine until it becomes a fine powder. Store the peppercorns in an airtight container and grind the pepper as you need it. ...the odor of fresh ground coffee. VERB: V n, V-ed • Grind up means the same as grind. He makes his own paint, grinding up the pigment with a little oil. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P 2. If you grind something into a surface, you press and rub it hard into the surface using small circular or sideways movements. 'Well,' I said, grinding my cigarette nervously into the granite step. VERB: V n prep • If you grind your teeth, you rub your upper and lower teeth together as though you are chewing something. If you know you're grinding your teeth, particularly at night, see your dentist. PHRASE: V inflects, V n 3. If you grind something, you make it smooth or sharp by rubbing it against a hard surface. ...a shop where they grind knives... The tip can be ground to a much sharper edge to cut smoother and faster. VERB: V n, be V-ed to n 4. If a vehicle grinds somewhere, it moves there very slowly and noisily. Tanks had crossed the border at five fifteen and were grinding south. VERB: V adv/prep 5. The grind of a machine is the harsh, scraping noise that it makes, usually because it is old or is working too hard. The grind of heavy machines could get on their nerves. N-SING: oft N of n 6. If you refer to routine tasks or activities as the grind, you mean they are boring and take up a lot of time and effort. (INFORMAL) The daily grind of government is done by Her Majesty's Civil Service... N-SING: oft adj N [disapproval] 7. see also grinding 8. If a country's economy or something such as a process grinds to a halt, it gradually becomes slower or less active until it stops. The peace process has ground to a halt while Israel struggles to form a new government. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If a vehicle grinds to a halt, it stops slowly and noisily. The tanks ground to a halt after a hundred yards because the fuel had been siphoned out. PHRASE: V inflects 10. to have an axe to grind: see axe to come to a grinding halt: see grinding

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Ex. 32:20; Deut. 9:21; Judg. 16:21), to crush small (Heb. tahan); to oppress the poor (Isa. 3:5). The hand-mill was early used by the Hebrews (Num. 11:8). It consisted of two stones, the upper (Deut. 24:6; 2 Sam. 11:21) being movable and slightly concave, the lower being stationary. The grinders mentioned Eccl. 12:3 are the teeth. (See MILL.)

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Triturate, pulverize, bruise, bray, comminute by attrition. 2. Sharpen (by rubbing). 3. Grate, rub together. 4. Oppress, harass, persecute, plague, trouble, afflict, be hard upon.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To have carnal knowledge of a woman.

Moby Thesaurus

ablate, abrade, abrase, aculeate, acuminate, afflict, agonize, ail, application, atomize, badger, barb, bark, beast of burden, beat, beat down, beaten path, belch, bibliolater, bibliolatrist, bibliomane, bibliomaniac, bibliophage, bibliophile, bibliophilist, bite, blare, blat, bone, boning, booklover, bookworm, brainwork, bray, break, break into pieces, break to pieces, break up, brecciate, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, bureaucracy, bureaucratism, burn, burr, buzz, cackle, castrate, caw, chafe, champ, chaw, chew, chew the cud, chew up, chinoiserie, chirr, chomp, chore, churn out, clamp down on, clang, clangor, clank, clash, coerce, comminute, compel, con, conning, contemplate, contemplation, contriturate, convulse, cow, cram, cramming, crash, craunch, croak, crucify, crumb, crumble, crump, crunch, crush, cuspidate, cut, cut to pieces, daily grind, daunt, demolish, despotize, diffuse, dig, dirty work, disintegrate, disperse, disrupt, distress, domineer, domineer over, donkeywork, drill, drudge, drudgery, edge, elucubrate, emery, employment, engrossment, enslave, erase, erode, examine, excruciate, exercise, exertion, extensive study, fag, failing student, fatigue, fester, file, fission, flour, fragment, fray, frazzle, fret, gall, galley slave, generate, give pain, gnash, gnaw, gnaw away, go over, grain, granulate, granulize, grate, graze, greasy grind, grind down, grind to powder, grinding, gripe, grit, groan, groove, growl, grub, grumble, gum, hack, hammer, hammer away, handiwork, handwork, harass, harrow, harry, headwork, hector, henpeck, hone, hound, hurt, ill-treat, industry, inflame, inflict pain, inspection, intimidate, irritate, jangle, jar, jog trot, keep down, keep under, kill by inches, labor, lacerate, levigate, lick, lick of work, lord it over, lucubrate, lucubration, make mincemeat of, maltreat, manual labor, martyr, martyrize, mash, masticate, mental labor, mill, mince, moil, mouth, muck, mugger, mumble, munch, nibble, nip, oilstone, oppress, overachiever, overawe, overbear, overmaster, override, pace, pain, peg, peg away, persecute, perusal, peruse, pestle, philobiblist, pierce, pinch, plague, plod, plodder, plug, plug along, plug away, plugging, plunge into, point, polish, pore over, pound, pound away, powder, practice, press heavy on, prick, produce, prolong the agony, pulverize, pumice, put to torture, rack, rankle, rasp, rat race, raze, read, reading, red tape, red-tapeism, reduce to powder, regard studiously, repress, reset, restudy, restudying, review, ride over, ride roughshod over, rote, round, routine, rub, rub away, rub off, rub out, ruminate, run, rut, sand, sandblast, sandpaper, scatter, scour, scranch, scrape, scratch, scrub, scrunch, scuff, scut work, set, shard, sharpen, shatter, shiver, shred, skin, slave, slavery, slog, slogger, smash, smash up, smooth, snarl, snore, spadework, spiculate, splinter, spur, squash, squirrel cage, squish, stab, sting, strap, stroke, stroke of work, strop, study, studying, subdue, subject, subjugate, suppress, sweat, swot, swotter, swotting, taper, task, terrorize, tiresome work, toil, torment, torture, track, trample down, trample upon, travail, tread down, tread upon, treadmill, triturate, turn out, twang, tweak, twist, tyrannize, tyrannize over, underachiever, unman, vet, wade through, walk all over, walk over, wear, wear away, wear down, weigh heavy on, well-worn groove, whet, wide reading, work, work away, workhorse, wound, wring