grind

American  

[grahynd] / graɪnd /

verb (used with object)

• grinds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ground,
  past participle,  past
• grinded,
  past
• grinding
  present participle

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)

• grinds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ground,
  past participle,  past
• grinded,
  past
• grinding
  present participle

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

• grinds
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• grinds
  plural

Participles

• grinding
  present
• ground
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• grind
  simple
• grinds
  simple
• have ground
  perfect
• has ground
  perfect
• am grinding
  progressive
• are grinding
  progressive
• is grinding
  progressive
• have been grinding
  perfect progressive
• has been grinding
  perfect progressive

Past

• grinded
  simple
• ground
  simple
• had ground
  perfect
• was grinding
  progressive
• were grinding
  progressive
• had been grinding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will grind
  simple
• will have ground
  perfect
• will be grinding
  progressive
• will have been grinding
  perfect progressive

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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”

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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

See Examples For:

grind grinds grinded ground grinding

This new book argues that the most successful people don’t just grind harder; they reshape their circumstances to make success feel automatic.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

"After many years of sort of grind and things being fairly flat, I think we're now headed for a lot of fun and significant growth," Musk said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

That will be a slow and frustrating grind back to affordable housing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

This explains why breadth in the S&P’s slow grind higher of late has been so narrow.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

To grind things up with, in her gizzard.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

The men’s game is holding tight to a best-of-5 sets format which routinely produces four and five hour grinds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

They may even be detained for months or years while their case grinds through immigration court.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

When he’s done speaking, Paul looks back down at the table, grinds his palms together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

"It hits 50mph and everything grinds to a halt," she said.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

The gravel goes into the gizzard and grinds the food as it comes down, since the pigeon has no teeth in its mouth to chew with.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

Hiring had almost grinded to a halt by the end of summer, alarming the Fed enough to push the central bank to start cutting interest rates again.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2025

At Roland Garros he described his level as "vintage Norrie" and the way in which he grinded past Jarry was another example as he went one better here.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2025

As the sides grinded through a weeks-long negotiation for the free-agent outfielder this offseason, those truths never wavered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2024

“As the war has grinded on, justice is beginning to seem more like cruelty,” Stewart said on Monday's segment.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2024

Grover touched a tiny scratch, and it became a Greek A. The mark of Daedalus glowed blue, and the stone wall grinded open.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

Gold gained ground, rising 0.8% to $3,908 an ounce, inching toward the closely watched $4,000 level.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

Whilst the cold weather will come with sunshine in most areas, showers will also feature in northern parts of the UK, some of which could be wintry over high ground.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

The country got rich, shoppers got easier access to goods and the ground got poisoned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

There’s a vast middle ground in your virtual retirement video game between being reckless with your money and enjoying it.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

Animals, used to solid ground, only have their instincts.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Moscow's forces have been grinding westwards, but have been unable to seize the prized Donetsk region in more than four years.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

These investigations included grinding away thin layers of rock and conducting detailed measurements up close.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Their defence has been one of the league's best, Will Reichard is yet to miss a kick and - although their offence is yet to catch fire - the Vikings keep grinding out victories.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

For queer people who never had the canonical experience of grinding in their high school gym, a party called Trakata fills that primal need — and operates on the same queer, rebellious frequency as neoperreo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Bracing for the grinding sound again, I ask my wheels to move to the side.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

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Related Words

• grate
• pulverize
• reduce
• scrape

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