grits
Americannoun
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Also called hominy grits. (especially in Southern cooking) coarsely ground hominy, or white corn, boiled to a thick consistency and then sometimes fried, eaten as a breakfast dish or as a side dish with meat.
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grain hulled and coarsely ground.
plural noun
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hulled and coarsely ground grain
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See hominy grits
Etymology
Origin of grits
First recorded before 900; Middle English grut(t)a, gryttes (plural) “coarse meal, bran,” Old English gryt(t) “dust, meal”; cognate with German Grütze
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The restaurants served up moderately priced country ham, pancakes, eggs and grits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025
Side by side with grits and eggs as our base, we let our moods of the morning dictate what more we add to our bowls.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025
He married those influences with a deep love for South Carolina Lowcountry cuisine like shrimp and grits, fried fish and hoppin’ John.
From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024
After he tasted the chicken and waffles, salmon eggrolls and cheesy salmon grits, he joined his family inside and ultimately tipped the staff $1,000.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2023
And hominy and grits, you aren’t gonna see that up north.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.