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grit

[grit]
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noun
  1. abrasive particles or granules, as of sand or other small, coarse impurities found in the air, food, water, etc.
  2. firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck: She has a reputation for grit and common sense.
  3. a coarse-grained siliceous rock, usually with sharp, angular grains.
  4. British. gravel.
  5. sand or other fine grainy particles eaten by fowl to aid in digestion.
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verb (used with object), grit·ted, grit·ting.
  1. to cause to grind or grate together.
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verb (used without object), grit·ted, grit·ting.
  1. to make a scratchy or slightly grating sound, as of sand being walked on; grate.
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Idioms
  1. grit one's teeth, to show tenseness, anger, or determination by or as if by clamping or grinding the teeth together.
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Origin of grit

before 1000; Middle English gret, griet, grit, Old English grēot; cognate with German Griess, Old Norse grjōt pebble, boulder; see grits
Related formsgrit·less, adjectivegrit·ter, noun

Synonyms

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2. resolution, fortitude, courage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gritted

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Wally gritted disgustedly, glancing over his shoulder at them.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

  • It was hard work, but they gritted their teeth and would not give up.

  • She gritted her teeth on the words, her nostrils distended with rage.

    Priestess of the Flame

    Sewell Peaslee Wright

  • “Two days in succession I have been disturbed,” he gritted out.

    The Night Riders

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • At last he gritted his teeth and forced himself to look at the walls.

    Loot of the Void

    Edwin K. Sloat

British Dictionary definitions for gritted

grit

noun
  1. small hard particles of sand, earth, stone, etc
  2. Also called: gritstone any coarse sandstone that can be used as a grindstone or millstone
  3. the texture or grain of stone
  4. indomitable courage, toughness, or resolution
  5. engineering an arbitrary measure of the size of abrasive particles used in a grinding wheel or other abrasive process
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verb grits, gritting or gritted
  1. to clench or grind together (two objects, esp the teeth)
  2. to cover (a surface, such as icy roads) with grit
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Derived Formsgritless, adjective

Word Origin

Old English grēot; related to Old Norse grjōt pebble, Old High German grioz; see great, groats, gruel

Grit

noun, adjective Canadian
  1. an informal word for Liberal
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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

Word Origin and History for gritted

grit

n.

Old English greot "sand, dust, earth, gravel," from Proto-Germanic *greutan "tiny particles of crushed rock" (cf. Old Saxon griot, Old Frisian gret, Old Norse grjot "rock, stone," German Grieß "grit, sand"), from PIE *ghreu- "rub, grind" (cf. Lithuanian grudas "corn, kernel," Old Church Slavonic gruda "clod"). Sense of "pluck, spirit" first recorded American English, 1808.

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grit

v.

"make a grating sound," 1762, probably from grit (n.). Related: Gritted; gritting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper