grout
Americannoun
-
a thin, coarse mortar poured into various narrow cavities, as masonry joints or rock fissures, to fill them and consolidate the adjoining objects into a solid mass.
-
a coat of plaster for finishing a ceiling or interior wall.
-
Usually grouts. lees; grounds.
-
Archaic.
-
coarse meal or porridge.
-
grouts, groats.
-
verb (used with object)
-
grouts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grouted,
past participle, past
-
grouting
present participle
-
to fill or consolidate with grout.
-
to use as grout.
noun
-
a thin mortar for filling joints between tiles, masonry, etc
-
a fine plaster used as a finishing coat
-
coarse meal or porridge
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
groutsimple
-
groutssimple
-
have groutedperfect
-
has groutedperfect
-
am groutingprogressive
-
are groutingprogressive
-
is groutingprogressive
-
have been groutingperfect progressive
-
has been groutingperfect progressive
Past
-
groutedsimple
-
had groutedperfect
-
was groutingprogressive
-
were groutingprogressive
-
had been groutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grout
before 1150; Middle English; Old English grūt; see grits, groats, grit
Explanation
Grout is a paste or putty that you use to fill in the spaces between tiles or along the edge of a tub. When grout dries, it keeps tiles in place, and once it's sealed, it protects against moisture. An old-fashioned meaning of grout is "porridge or gruel," from the Old English gruta, "coarse meal," and a root meaning "to grind." These days you don't eat grout, but instead use it in home improvement projects, especially between floor or wall tiles. As a verb, to grout means "to apply grout."
Vocabulary lists containing grout
Top 50 Wordle Words of 2023
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Barely Missing Everything
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
But you don’t have to compute the coefficient to know that matte tiles are better than shiny ones, and small tiles are better than the big ones because the grout lines provide friction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
There were places on the facade where a single tile needed to fit in the grout on the wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
From the acidic brine of pickle juice to the grout between your bathroom tiles, mold can thrive in even the most inhospitable environments.
From National Geographic ● Nov. 10, 2023
The grout would probably test out in excess of 12,000 pounds per square inch.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
Small dark hairs flecked the sink basin, and dust was gathering in the grout lines between the tiles.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Both sanded and unsanded grouts are cement-based or latex-modified products.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
For cement-based or latex-modified grouts, it’s safest to work on only about three square feet at a time.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
Sanded and unsanded grouts are mixed with water and installation and cleanup are simple.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2021
The size of Longo's voyeuristic images reflects the scale of his essential subject: the American consciousness industry, and the way it grouts every cranny in public life.
From Time Magazine Archive
Oatmeal or porridge is always called "grouts"; and the Cotswold native does not talk of hoisting a ladder, but "highsting" is the term he uses.
From A Cotswold Village by J. Arthur Gibbs
The GAO says costs could be cut by tens of billions of dollars if some of the low-activity waste were grouted, or immobilized in concrete, and shipped out of Washington for disposal.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
When the whole surface is grouted, wipe down everything again with a clean, damp sponge.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
More than 240 miles of drains have been cleared of debris and 1,500 leaks grouted.
From New York Times ● Jul. 23, 2018
Each monolith needed a recess where the stone would later be grouted in place, so Boland laid each one on a piece of rigid foam insulation and traced its shape.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2018
A. In general the walls are faced on each side with a thin shell of ashlar or cut stone, whilst the intervening space, which is sometimes considerable, is filled with grouted rubble.
From The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture, Elucidated by Question and Answer, 4th ed. by Matthew Holbeche Bloxam
Originally envisioned as a means to an end, the express trains, steam trains and mail trains quickly became the focus of my journey, the cities and towns like grouting smoothed around the tracks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
Crews need to test the road’s base, which includes drilling and grouting of smaller holes and voids in the surrounding area.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2025
Once he was inside, Chris noticed problems: "I have a photo where there were actual mushrooms growing out of the grouting in the bathroom," he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2023
Though no radiation release was found, the incident triggered a take-cover for workers, and led to a grouting effort to shore up the structure completed last November.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2018
I listen, as I watch the king grouting away, but understand nothing except the animosity between Tibe and Estraven.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
