Synonyms

nitty-gritty

American

[nit-ee-grit-ee] / ˈnɪt iˈgrɪt i /

noun

the essential substance or details of a matter; basics; crux.

Let's skip the chitchat and get down to the nitty-gritty.

adjective

fundamental, detailed, or probing.

nitty-gritty questions.
direct and practical.

nitty-gritty advice; a nitty-gritty system.

nitty-gritty British

/ ˈnɪtɪˈɡrɪtɪ /

noun

informal the basic facts of a matter, situation, etc; the core

"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

Etymology

Origin of nitty-gritty

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65; rhyming compound of uncertain origin

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:

nitty-gritty

"Given those goals, it makes sense that you aren't interested in nitty-gritty details," Fernandez said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

You can’t really get into the nitty-gritty unless you are looking at real numbers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“It’s like: Wait a minute, you’re starting to lose me on the nitty-gritty of this.”

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

Decades ago they started outsourcing to executive-branch agencies the task of nitty-gritty legislating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The video was about yarn structure, which probably wasn’t interesting to most people, but the knitters who subscribed to Grandma’s YouTube channel loved the nitty-gritty details.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023