grating

¹ American  

[grey-ting] / ˈgreɪ tɪŋ /

noun

• gratings
  plural

1. a fixed frame of bars or the like covering an opening to exclude persons, animals, coarse material, or objects while admitting light, air, or fine material.

2. Physics. diffraction grating.

---

grating ² American  

[grey-ting] / ˈgreɪ tɪŋ /

adjective

1. irritating or unpleasant to one's feelings.

2. (of a sound or noise) harsh, discordant, or rasping.

---

grating ¹ British  

/ ˈɡreɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of sounds) harsh and rasping

2. annoying; irritating

---

noun

1. (often plural) something produced by grating

grating ² British  

/ ˈɡreɪtɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called: grate.  a framework of metal bars in the form of a grille set into a wall, pavement, etc, serving as a cover or guard but admitting air and sometimes light

2. short for diffraction grating

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gratingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gratings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grating¹

First recorded in 1605–15; grat(e) ¹ + -ing ¹

Origin of grating²

First recorded in 1555–65; grat(e) ² + -ing ²

Explanation

When something is grating, it's extremely harsh and irritating, like the grating sound of your alarm clock early on a Monday morning. As an adjective, grating is particularly good for describing unpleasant sounds, like the grating voice of someone who's nagging you. As a noun, a grating is an object in the shape of a grid, with parallel bars forming regular squares or rectangles. This kind of grating is often used as a cover for an opening, like the grating that covers a storm drain in the gutter or an exhaust fan in the ceiling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grating gratings

Feeling powerless is grating and interviewing for a new role can increase your sense of control, even if you don’t end up taking it.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

It’s a little grating to see boorish Tony offer him business tips.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Even though I find loudcasting intensely grating, I have never registered an official complaint and have only occasionally asked other passengers to turn the volume down on their device.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

And after several weeks of 90-degree days, I had become devoted to grating tomatoes, an activity especially suited to weather in which chewing can seem like an unreasonable demand.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

I rocked her for several minutes before I realized the awful grating sound had stopped.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

He looked through the door and was able to see a grating sitting on top of other gratings - leaving a void with the North Sea below it.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

Earlier versions of such gratings, made from materials like silicon or gallium compounds, required thicknesses of several hundred nanometers to function effectively.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2026

The principle of acoustic control of laser light in gases is not limited to the generation of optical gratings, the scientists emphasise.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2023

The lamprey ladder at Bonneville is an elaborate chute system with smooth surfaces lamprey can attach to, rounded corners, no gratings and places to rest.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 23, 2022

Soon after arriving in the deserted village Capricorn had had gratings fitted over the narrow niches where long-dead priests slept in their stone tombs.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke