groin

American  

[groin] / grɔɪn /

noun

• groins
  plural

1. Anatomy. the fold or hollow on either side of the front of the body where the thigh joins the abdomen.

2. the general region of this fold or hollow.

3. Architecture. the curved line or edge formed by the intersection of two vaults.

4. Also groyne a small jetty extending from a shore to prevent beach erosion.

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verb (used with object)

1. Architecture. to form with groins.

groin British  

/ ɡrɔɪn /

noun

1. the depression or fold where the legs join the abdomen

2. euphemistic the genitals, esp the testicles

3. a variant spelling (esp US) of groyne

4. architect a curved arris formed where two intersecting vaults meet

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verb

1. (tr) architect to provide or construct with groins

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ungroined
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• groins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of groin

1350–1400; earlier grine, Middle English grinde; compare Old English grynde “abyss,” akin to grund “bottom, ground ¹ ”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

groin groins

McVay scrapped on-field workouts in post-draft rookie camps after safety John Johnson suffered a groin injury in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

But he also "ripped his groin" in United's FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury in February 2016.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Both address bad valves without open-heart surgery, typically by going in through the femoral artery in the groin.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The cancer had spread to lymph nodes in Alastair's groin, so they also had to be removed.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

Garfield’s doctors had always believed that the bullet traveled down through his abdomen toward his groin.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

“Yeah, it for sure felt like that. I think my knee bothering me helped my groins too,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

“The shot blocking, the groins, the hips, the cuts, the bruises, playing every second night: That’s the toll,” coach Jon Cooper said Sunday.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2022

The series of groins along a beach develops a scalloped appearance for the shoreline.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

Layton built his field of groins - long structures built out into the water to trap and accumulate sand that would otherwise drift along the beach under the water - in the 1950s.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 25, 2015

During the intervals, she complained of deep seated pain, numbness and cramps, in the lower part of the abdomen, in the thighs and groins.

From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Franklin Bache