grains

[ greynz ]

/ greɪnz /

noun (often used with a singular verb)

an iron instrument with barbed prongs, for spearing or harpooning fish.

Nearby words

grain sorghum, grained, grainfield, grainger, graining, grains, grains of paradise, grainy, grallatorial, gralloch, gram

Origin of grains

1895–1900; earlier grainse < Old Norse grein branch, division; compare Swedish gren

Definition for grains (2 of 2)

grain

[ greyn ]

/ greɪn /

noun

a small, hard seed, especially the seed of a food plant such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, or millet.

the gathered seed of food plants, especially of cereal plants.

such plants collectively.

any small, hard particle, as of sand, gold, pepper, or gunpowder.

the smallest unit of weight in most systems, originally determined by the weight of a plump grain of wheat. In the U.S. and British systems, as in avoirdupois, troy, and apothecaries' weights, the grain is identical. In an avoirdupois ounce there are 437.5 grains; in the troy and apothecaries' ounces there are 480 grains (one grain equals 0.0648 gram).

the smallest possible amount of anything: a grain of truth.

the arrangement or direction of fibers in wood, or the pattern resulting from this.

the direction in which the fibers of a piece of dressed wood, as a board, rise to the surface: You should work with or across the grain, but never against.

the side of leather from which the hair has been removed.

a stamped pattern that imitates the natural grain of leather: used either on leather to simulate a different type of natural leather, or on coated cloth.

Textiles.

the fibers or yarn in a piece of fabric as differentiated from the fabric itself.
the direction of threads in a woven fabric in relation to the selvage.

the lamination or cleavage of stone, coal, etc.

Metallurgy. any of the individual crystalline particles forming a metal.

Jewelry. a unit of weight equal to 50 milligrams or ¼ carat, used for pearls and sometimes for diamonds.

the size of constituent particles of any substance; texture: sugar of fine grain.

a granular texture or appearance: a stone of coarse grain.

a state of crystallization: boiled to the grain.

temper or natural character: two brothers of similar grain.

Rocketry. a unit of solid propellant.

Obsolete. color or hue.

verb (used with object)

to form into grains; granulate.

to give a granular appearance to.

to paint in imitation of the grain of wood, stone, etc.: metal doors grained to resemble oak.

to feed grain to (an animal).

Tanning.

to remove the hair from (skins).
to soften and raise the grain of (leather).

Origin of grain

1250–1300; Middle English grain, grein < Old French grain < Latin grānum seed, grain; see corn¹

SYNONYMS FOR grain

6 bit, speck, trace, jot, iota, whit, tittle.

Related forms

grain·er, noungrain·less, adjectivemul·ti·grain, noun, adjectivenon·grain, noun

su·per·grain, nounun·der·grain·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for grains

Baijiu is a general Chinese term for spirits made from grains.
The Most Powerful Liquor in the World|Kayleigh Kulp|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From there, you can reintroduce some of the “grey area” foods like dairy and grains to see how you tolerate them.
In Defense of the Paleo Diet|Chris Kresser, M.S., L.AC.|January 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All grains produce lectins, which selectively bind to unique proteins on the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, and insects.
Wheat Threatens All Humans, New Research Shows|David Perlmutter, MD|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
All things considered, lower levels of U.S. economic activity tend to lead to lower demand for grains, steel, and oil.
Shutdown? What Shutdown? It’s Time to Buy U.S. Government Bonds!|Daniel Gross|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

And most American exports consist of goods like grains, or cherries, or electric turbines, or airplanes.
Give Me Your Studious: American Universities Are Prolific Exporters|Daniel Gross|August 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In other forms the union of the grains by a calcareous or ferruginous cement necessitates the existence of distinct pylomes.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various
Of course in screenings, there is always considerable real wheat, though the grains are small.
The Minute Man of the Frontier|W. G. Puddefoot
A dollar is 254⁄5 grains of a metal compound coined, of which nine parts are pure gold and one part a hardening alloy.
Principles of Political Economy|Arthur Latham Perry
Scattered here and there were smaller rubies and sapphires, down to the size of grains of sand.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
You ought to give him from ten to twenty grains three times a day in an ounce of water.
Indiscretions of Archie|P. G. Wodehouse

British Dictionary definitions for grains

grain

/ (ɡreɪn) /

noun

the small hard seedlike fruit of a grass, esp a cereal plant

a mass of such fruits, esp when gathered for food

the plants, collectively, from which such fruits are harvested

a small hard particlea grain of sand

the general direction or arrangement of the fibrous elements in paper or woodto saw across the grain
the pattern or texture of wood resulting from such an arrangementthe attractive grain of the table

the relative size of the particles of a substancesugar of fine grain

the granular texture of a rock, mineral, etc
the appearance of a rock, mineral, etc, determined by the size and arrangement of its constituents

the outer (hair-side) layer of a hide or skin from which the hair or wool has been removed
the pattern on the outer surface of such a hide or skin

a surface artificially imitating the grain of wood, leather, stone, etc; graining

the smallest unit of weight in the avoirdupois, Troy, and apothecaries' systems, based on the average weight of a grain of wheat: in the avoirdupois system it equals 1/7000 of a pound, and in the Troy and apothecaries' systems it equals 1/5760 of a pound. 1 grain is equal to 0.0648 gramAbbreviation: gr

Also called: metric grain a metric unit of weight used for pearls or diamonds, equal to 50 milligrams or one quarter of a carat

the threads or direction of threads in a woven fabric

photog any of a large number of particles in a photographic emulsion, the size of which limit the extent to which an image can be enlarged without serious loss of definition

television a granular effect in a television picture caused by electrical noise

cleavage lines in crystalline material, parallel to growth planes

chem any of a large number of small crystals forming a polycrystalline solid, each having a regular array of atoms that differs in orientation from that of the surrounding crystallites

a state of crystallizationto boil syrup to the grain

a very small amounta grain of truth

natural disposition, inclination, or character (esp in the phrase go against the grain)

astronautics a homogenous mass of solid propellant in a form designed to give the required combustion characteristics for a particular rocket

(not in technical usage) kermes or a red dye made from this insect

dyeing an obsolete word for colour

with a grain of salt or with a pinch of salt without wholly believing: sceptically

verb (mainly tr)

(also intr) to form grains or cause to form into grains; granulate; crystallize

to give a granular or roughened appearance or texture to

to paint, stain, etc, in imitation of the grain of wood or leather

to remove the hair or wool from (a hide or skin) before tanning
to raise the grain pattern on (leather)

Derived Forms

grainer, noungrainless, adjective

Word Origin for grain

C13: from Old French, from Latin grānum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for grains

grain

[ grān ]

n.

A small, dry, one-seeded fruit of a cereal grass, having the fruit and the seed walls united.

The fruits of cereal grasses especially after having been harvested, considered as a group.

A relatively small discrete particulate or crystalline mass.

A unit of weight in the US Customary System, an avoirdupois unit equal to 0.002286 ounce (0.065 gram).

Science definitions for grains

grain

[ grān ]

See caryopsis.

A small particle of something, such as salt, pollen, or sand.

A unit of weight in the US Customary System, equal to 21000 of an ounce (0.07 gram). See Table at measurement.

Idioms and Phrases with grains

grain

see against the grain; with a grain of salt.