grindhouse

American  

[grahynd-hous] / ˈgraɪndˌhaʊs /

noun

Slang.

1. Also grind house a burlesque house, especially one providing continuous entertainment at reduced prices.

2. a movie theater with inexpensive admission pricing that shows low-budget films one after another, throughout the day and all or most of the night.

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adjective

Slang.

1. of or relating to the low-budget films shown in these theaters, as exploitation films or B-movies: His art films have a cheap grindhouse aesthetic.

   It’s an old grindhouse flick with cannibals hunting teens through an abandoned warehouse.

   His art films have a cheap grindhouse aesthetic.

grindhouse British  

/ ˈɡraɪndˌhaʊs /

noun

1. 1. a cinema specializing in violent or exploitative films such as martial arts movies from Japan and Hong Kong

   2. ( as modifier )

      a grindhouse film

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Etymology

Origin of grindhouse

First recorded in 1920–25; grind ( def. ) (in the combined sense “to operate an early movie projector by turning a handle or crank” and “a low-budget film that a studio grinds out”) + house ( def. )

Example Sentences

Or at least since the 1970s, when the dialogue of Quentin Tarantino’s beloved grindhouse movies was all blunt simplicity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

It is Cronenberg’s empathic, almost tender approach to the material that humanizes the film; his tonal approach is redemptive rather than grindhouse exploitative.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2024

He didn’t just passively watch the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone or the grindhouse films of the 1970s, he dissected them scene by scene.

From BBC • Oct. 10, 2024

The 4K enhanced transfer does a great job of ruining the entire smarmy grindhouse visual presentation of the original.

From Washington Times • Mar. 21, 2023

He made giant pop crossover hits, but they bubbled with wildly vivid threats better suited for a grindhouse theater.

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2021