grindhouse

American  

[grahynd-hous] / ˈgraɪndˌhaʊs /

noun

Slang.

1. Also grind house a burlesque house, especially one providing continuous entertainment at reduced prices.

2. a movie theater with inexpensive admission pricing that shows low-budget films one after another, throughout the day and all or most of the night.

---

adjective

Slang.

1. of or relating to the low-budget films shown in these theaters, as exploitation films or B-movies: His art films have a cheap grindhouse aesthetic.

   It’s an old grindhouse flick with cannibals hunting teens through an abandoned warehouse.

   His art films have a cheap grindhouse aesthetic.

grindhouse British  

/ ˈɡraɪndˌhaʊs /

noun

1. 1. a cinema specializing in violent or exploitative films such as martial arts movies from Japan and Hong Kong

   2. ( as modifier )

      a grindhouse film

---

Etymology

Origin of grindhouse

First recorded in 1920–25; grind ( def. ) (in the combined sense “to operate an early movie projector by turning a handle or crank” and “a low-budget film that a studio grinds out”) + house ( def. )

Example Sentences

And several boutique home media labels, including Arrow Video, Blue Underground, Grindhouse Releasing, Something Weird and Vinegar Syndrome, have made their most popular titles available for subscribers.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2024

Like Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino always give music collectors something to enjoy and explore, but "Death Proof" — his directorial half of "Grindhouse" — maintains a unique balance in his filmography between soundtrack and score.

From Salon • May 30, 2022

Anderson’s dark, Ohio-set 1967 family drama “Spring Night, Summer Night” followed by the new companion documentary “In the Middle of the Nights: From Arthouse to Grindhouse and Back Again.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2020

O’Shea named two hypothetical advances that would let Grindhouse Wetware and other biohackers go farther.

From The Verge • Jul. 21, 2017

Danny Trejo’s Machete appeared in a fake trailer in Grindhouse, two standalone movies and all four Spy Kids films.

From The Guardian • Jan. 19, 2017