grindstone

[ grahynd-stohn ]

/ ˈgraɪndˌstoʊn /

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noun

a rotating solid stone wheel used for sharpening, shaping, etc.

a millstone.

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Idioms about grindstone

keep / put one's nose to the grindstone, to work, study, or practice hard and steadily or to cause someone to do so: If I put my nose to the grindstone, I'll finish the job this week.

Origin of grindstone

1175–1225; Middle English. See grind, stone

Words nearby grindstone

grind in, grinding wheel, grindle, grind on, grind rock, grindstone, grind to a halt, gringa, gringo, grin like a Cheshire cat, griot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grindstone in a sentence

When you’re head-down and nose to the grindstone — I’m looking at all you hard-working early-stage startup founders — it’s easy to miss a deadline for an outstanding opportunity.
Deadline extended: Apply to Startup Battlefield at TC Disrupt 2021|Neesha A. Tambe|May 14, 2021|TechCrunch
He told and told of his misery with Cavonnier’s loss to Grindstone in 1996, saying, “I couldn’t say what I wanted” at the moment because, “There was a monsignor sitting right in front of me.”
Bob Baffert, long horse racing’s irreverent king, sits on a precarious throne|Chuck Culpepper, Gus Garcia-Roberts|May 14, 2021|Washington Post
She was very glib with the sheep and the geese, but the grindstone made her head ache, and she gave it up.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
Probably she had never heard of the grindstone, or the sheep, and could not work out the problems if she had.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes

These people had travelled with our caravan for two days, each carrying the heavy grindstone in turns.
The Caravan Route between Egypt and Syria|Ludwig Salvator
The Indians took the boy who had been turning the grindstone, young Slocum, and his sister Frances, and prepared to depart.
The Indian: On the Battle-Field and in the Wigwam|John Frost
When Osmo found she was firm, he went secretly and broke the old grindstone into small pieces.
Mighty Mikko|Parker Fillmore

British Dictionary definitions for grindstone

grindstone

/ (ˈɡraɪndˌstəʊn) /

noun

a machine having a circular block of stone or composite abrasive rotated for sharpening tools or grinding metal
the stone used in this machine
any stone used for sharpening; whetstone

another name for millstone

keep one's nose to the grindstone or have one's nose to the grindstone to work hard and perseveringly

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with grindstone

grindstone

see nose to the grindstone.

grindstone

Idioms about grindstone

Origin of grindstone

Words nearby grindstone

Words related to grindstone

How to use grindstone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grindstone

Other Idioms and Phrases with grindstone