grind

American  

[grahynd] / graɪnd /

verb (used with object)

ground, grinded, grinding

1. to wear, smooth, or sharpen by abrasion or friction; whet.

   to grind a lens.

2. to reduce to fine particles, as by pounding or crushing; bray, triturate, or pulverize.

   Synonyms:

   pound, comminute, powder, crush

3. to oppress, torment, or crush.

   to grind minimum-wage employees.

   Synonyms:

   maltreat, persecute, afflict, plague

4. to rub harshly or gratingly; grate together; grit.

   to grind one's teeth.

   Synonyms:

   abrade

5. to operate by turning a crank.

   to grind a hand organ.

6. to produce by crushing or abrasion.

   to grind flour.

7. Slang. to annoy; irritate; irk.

   It really grinds me when he's late.

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verb (used without object)

ground, grinded, grinding

1. to perform the operation of reducing to fine particles.

2. to rub harshly; grate.

3. to be or become ground.

4. to be polished or sharpened by friction.

5. Informal. to work or study laboriously (often followed byaway ).

   He was grinding away at his algebra.

6. Digital Technology. (in a video game) to perform a monotonous task repeatedly in order to advance a character to a higher level or rank.

   You have to grind for hours before you can embark on the main story mission.

7. Slang. (in a dance) to rotate the hips in a suggestive manner.

noun

1. the act of grinding.

2. a grinding sound.

3. a grade of particle fineness into which a substance is ground.

   The coffee is available in various grinds for different coffee makers.

4. laborious, usually uninteresting work.

   Copying all the footnotes was a grind.

5. Informal. an excessively diligent student.

6. Slang. a dance movement in which the hips are rotated in a suggestive or erotic manner.

verb phrase

1. grind out

   1. to produce in a routine or mechanical way.

      to grind out magazine stories.

   2. to extinguish by rubbing the lighted end against a hard surface.

      to grind out a cigarette.

grind British  

/ ɡraɪnd /

verb

1. to reduce or be reduced to small particles by pounding or abrading

   to grind corn

   to grind flour

2. (tr) to smooth, sharpen, or polish by friction or abrasion

   to grind a knife

3. to scrape or grate together (two things, esp the teeth) with a harsh rasping sound or (of such objects) to be scraped together

4. to speak or say (something) in a rough voice

5. to hold down; oppress; tyrannize

6. (tr) to operate (a machine) by turning a handle

7. to produce in a routine or uninspired manner

   he ground out his weekly article for the paper

8. to continue to play in a dull or insipid manner

   the band only ground out old tunes all evening

9. to instil (facts, information, etc) by persistent effort

   they ground into the recruits the need for vigilance

10. informal (intr) to study or work laboriously

11. (intr) to dance erotically by rotating the pelvis (esp in the phrase bump and grind )

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noun

1. informal laborious or routine work or study

2. slang a person, esp a student, who works excessively hard

3. a specific grade of pulverization, as of coffee beans

   coarse grind

4. slang the act of sexual intercourse

5. a dance movement involving an erotic rotation of the pelvis

6. the act or sound of grinding

grind Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing grind

• ax to grind
• mills of the gods grind slowly

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Other Word Forms

• grindability
  noun
• grindable
  adjective
• grindingly
  adverb
• regrind
  verb
• ungrindable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of grind

First recorded before 950; Middle English grinden, Old English grindan; akin to Gothic grinda-, Latin frendere “to gnash the teeth; complain”

Explanation

If you like to grind your own coffee beans, it means you prefer to buy whole beans, put them in an electric grinder, and pulverize them into tiny bits before you brew your coffee. When you grind something, you mill or crush it into smaller pieces, the way you grind pepper or grind a grain into flour. Two things that rub up against each other also grind together, which is what your teeth do if you grind them in your sleep. Informally, grind also means boring, tedious work, often in the sense of "grind away" or "the daily grind." This sense of grind was invented in the 1800s as college slang.

Example Sentences

Wilson signed off: “I think the U.S. equity market will grind higher for the rest of the year with intermittent bouts of volatility.”

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

You gotta work, figure it out and grind.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

With the help of large handheld food mixers, they carefully grind the mixture of dried Californian grapes and water, which they then ferment before distilling it in a large still imported from Germany.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

This structure suggests the animal may have been among the earliest of its kind to grind plant material.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

Forever shall the intolerable present grind you down.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• grate
• pulverize
• reduce
• scrape