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

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

For added populist grist, the club is located above the Milken Institute, a think tank founded by a formerly incarcerated financier, Michael Milken, and is majority owned by Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 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

Finals of schoolboy sports, dog racing, strange little competitions in the remoter counties, all these are grist to our hungry mill.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Related Words

• cereal
• corn