gritty
Americanadjective
-
grittier,
comparative
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grittiest
superlative
-
consisting of, containing, or resembling grit; sandy.
-
resolute and courageous; plucky.
adjective
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courageous; hardy; resolute
-
of, like, or containing grit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of gritty
Explanation
Gritty things have a rough texture that makes them feel like they're coated with sand. After a day at the beach, you might come home with gritty arms and legs. A baking project involving corn meal might result in a gritty counter and a gritty kitchen floor, and one shake of your dirty dog will leave you with a gritty couch. Grit is a tiny particle of sand or stone, and gritty means "covered in grit." A second meaning of gritty is "showing bravery and spirit." When you stick with something no matter how scary or difficult it is, that's gritty.
Vocabulary lists containing gritty
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Baseball in April
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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.
See Examples For:
Perhaps best of all: The movie has a gritty, charming meanness to it; a stickiness that’s hard to shake off.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
And the setting is not gritty city noir, but the kind of struggling small town that Russo, raised in working-class Gloversville, N.Y., has made his signature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
England needed a Joe Root rescue act once again as his 99 not out led a gritty chase of 234 against India in Cardiff to level the one-day international series against India.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
With Wednesday’s gritty 2-0 over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a game the U.S. finished with just 10 men, the Americans won a game in the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Other parts were gritty with sand, or were tangled in seaweed, or were inhabited by small, scuttling creatures.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
“It was dangerous and it was a little grittier, a little more scary to grow up in the L.A. of the ’80s,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Fans of Marvel’s grittier side should like “Punisher,” and “Maul” is cool, but is that enough to justify a subscription?
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
“I think nightlife will thrive downtown, since bars attract people that don’t mind a little grittier atmosphere,” said Moses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
But this was a tougher, grittier version of the Hoosiers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
They were nearing the edge of Lkossa, a grittier part of the city littered with old crates, debris, and other filth.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
However this story ends, U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn has to go down as one of the greatest, grittiest competitors in the history of her sport or any other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Crawley at least found form with the grittiest of knocks, adding 78 with Joe Root then 68 with Harry Brook, defending well and attacking loose balls.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
"Dead City" is very interesting because I find it to be the grittiest one, the most hard-nosed.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2024
Justin Langer, once the grittiest of Australia cricketers, is now the national team's high-profile team boss.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2021
She came out of Berwind, which was one of the grittiest and roughest towns in the county.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
