grain
[ greyn ]
/ greɪn /
Save This Word!
noun
verb (used with object)
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS APLENTY!
Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!
Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Idioms for grain
against the / one's grain, in opposition to one's temper, inclination, or character: Haggling always went against her grain.
with a grain of salt. salt1 (def. 24).
Origin of grain
OTHER WORDS FROM grain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for grain
British Dictionary definitions for grain
grain
/ (ɡreɪn) /
noun
verb (mainly tr)
Derived forms of grain
grainer, noungrainless, adjectiveWord Origin for grain
C13: from Old French, from Latin grānum
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
Medical definitions for grain
grain
[ grān ]
n.
A small, dry, one-seeded fruit of a cereal grass, having the fruit and the seed walls united.
The fruits of cereal grasses especially after having been harvested, considered as a group.
A relatively small discrete particulate or crystalline mass.
A unit of weight in the US Customary System, an avoirdupois unit equal to 0.002286 ounce (0.065 gram).
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for grain
grain
[ grān ]
See caryopsis.
A small particle of something, such as salt, pollen, or sand.
A unit of weight in the US Customary System, equal to 21000 of an ounce (0.07 gram). See Table at measurement.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with grain
grain
see against the grain; with a grain of salt.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.