grist

American  

[grist] / grɪst /

noun

1. grain to be ground.

2. ground grain; meal produced from grinding.

3. a quantity of grain for grinding at one time; the amount of meal from one grinding.

4. Older Use. a quantity or lot.

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verb (used with object)

1. to grind (grain).

idioms

1. grist for / to one's mill, something employed to one's profit or advantage, especially something seemingly unpromising.

   Every delay was so much more grist for her mill.

grist British  

/ ɡrɪst /

noun

1. 1. grain intended to be or that has been ground

   2. the quantity of such grain processed in one grinding

2. brewing malt grains that have been cleaned and cracked

3. anything that can be turned to profit or advantage

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Other Word Forms

• grister noun

Etymology

Origin of grist

before 1000; Middle English, Old English; akin to Old English grindan to grind

Explanation

When grain like wheat or oats is ground into flour, it's called grist. Maize or corn that's made into coarse grist is called "grits." Grits. Yum. When grain is prepared for grinding, the grist is separated from the chaff, or the thick seed covering. You may have heard the saying, "It's all grist for the mill." What that basically means is that anything at all can be useful or profitable—or that someone can put a positive spin on anything. It comes from the idea that any grain at all is useful to a miller who grinds it into flour.

Example Sentences

The unearthing in 2018 of a charcoal inscription at Pompeii featuring a date in October has been grist to the mill of those who seek to push the eruption beyond August.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Efforts to make real Hollywood-style movies resulted in comically bad failures like “Lady Ballers,” which probably made more money for the content creators who used it as grist for their mockery mill.

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2025

This ought to be grist to the mill of the Scottish pack.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2025

“The data should provide plenty of grist for earthquake prediction,” says Jeffrey Park, a seismologist at Yale University.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 17, 2024

I didn’t mind the cereal if I could soak it in milk, letting the cream gather up the grist and seep into the pellets, but since the revelation we’d been having it with water.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• cereal
• corn