groin
Americannoun
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groins
plural
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Anatomy. the fold or hollow on either side of the front of the body where the thigh joins the abdomen.
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the general region of this fold or hollow.
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Architecture. the curved line or edge formed by the intersection of two vaults.
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Also groyne a small jetty extending from a shore to prevent beach erosion.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the depression or fold where the legs join the abdomen
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euphemistic the genitals, esp the testicles
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a variant spelling (esp US) of groyne
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architect a curved arris formed where two intersecting vaults meet
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of groin
1350–1400; earlier grine, Middle English grinde; compare Old English grynde “abyss,” akin to grund “bottom, ground 1 ”
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:
Sources have told BBC Sport Sarr has not trained for the last two days, complaining of a groin issue, amid interest from Turkish side Galatasaray.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Some residents believe the exposed material is part of an old groin that was built long before it expanded into a jetty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
“In just two games, I got hit in the face, groin, shin, foot, hand and head,” he says, counting up his bruises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Both address bad valves without open-heart surgery, typically by going in through the femoral artery in the groin.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
They had been tested and found not wanting, she reads, with ice packs on a strained muscle in her groin.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
“Yeah, it for sure felt like that. I think my knee bothering me helped my groins too,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
NOTES: DBs Lonnie Johnson and Elijah Molden both did not practice due to injured groins.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2022
The Army Corps of Engineers, which began the Rockaway resiliency project in 2020, is installing stone structures called groins — similar to rock jetties — into the ocean to fortify sand along the beach.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2022
The series of groins along a beach develops a scalloped appearance for the shoreline.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
He had been for several years in the power of the Indians; he died of a disease of the groins.
From The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2) Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain. by Bernal Díaz del Castillo
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.
