groin

American  

[groin] / grɔɪn /

noun

groins plural

1. Anatomy. the fold or hollow on either side of the front of the body where the thigh joins the abdomen.

2. the general region of this fold or hollow.

3. Architecture. the curved line or edge formed by the intersection of two vaults.

4. Also groyne a small jetty extending from a shore to prevent beach erosion.

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verb (used with object)

1. Architecture. to form with groins.

groin British  

/ ɡrɔɪn /

noun

1. the depression or fold where the legs join the abdomen

2. euphemistic the genitals, esp the testicles

3. a variant spelling (esp US) of groyne

4. architect a curved arris formed where two intersecting vaults meet

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verb

1. (tr) architect to provide or construct with groins

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ungroined
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• groins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of groin

1350–1400; earlier grine, Middle English grinde; compare Old English grynde “abyss,” akin to grund “bottom, ground ¹ ”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

groin groins

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

Isak arrived unfit then got a groin injury.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Last year, Hernández played in just one rehab game returning from a strained groin.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026

First, doctors make a small puncture in an artery, usually in the groin, and feed a catheter up into the patient’s heart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Billy put on his groin protector and slipped into the green trunks he always wore.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

“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

“The shot blocking, the groins, the hips, the cuts, the bruises, playing every second night: That’s the toll,” coach Jon Cooper said Sunday.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 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

In most cases there were glandular swellings in the groins, armpits, and neck.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various