grind

 
Pronunciation: /grʌɪnd/

verb (past and past participle ground /graʊnd/)

  • 1 [with object] reduce (something) to small particles or powder by crushing it: grind some black pepper over the salad she ground up the rice prior to boiling
  • sharpen, smooth, or produce (something) by crushing or by friction: power from a waterwheel was used to grind cutlery
  • operate (a mill or machine) by turning the handle: she was grinding a coffee mill
  • [no object] (of a mill or machine) work with a crushing action: the old mill was grinding again
  • 2rub or cause to rub together gratingly: [no object]: tectonic plates that inexorably grind against each other [with object]: he keeps me awake at night, grinding his teeth
  • [with object] press or rub (something) into a surface: she ground a half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray
  • [no object, with adverbial] move noisily and laboriously: the truck was grinding slowly up the hill
  • 3 [no object] informal (of a dancer) gyrate the hips erotically: go-go girls grinding to blaring disco
  • British vulgar slang, dated have sexual intercourse.

noun

  • 1a crushing or grating sound or motion: the crunch and grind of bulldozers figurative the slow grind of the US legal system
  • the size of ground particles: only the right grind gives you all the fine flavour
  • 2hard dull work: relief from the daily grind
  • US informal an excessively hard-working student.
  • Irish a private tuition class: experienced teacher offers grinds in Maths and Irish, to all levels
  • 3 informal a dancer’s erotic gyration of the hips: a bump and grind
  • British vulgar slang, dated an act of sexual intercourse.

Phrases

grind to a halt (or come to a grinding halt)

slow down gradually and then stop completely: in summer traffic all but grinds to a halt the surge of modernism finally seemed to grind to a halt

Phrasal Verbs

grind away

work or study hard: he began to grind away in a job as a research assistant

grind someone down

wear someone down with continuous harsh treatment: mundane everyday things which just grind people down

grind on

continue for a long time in a wearying or tedious way: the rail talks grind on

grind something out

produce something dull or tedious slowly and laboriously: the band was grinding out the inevitable summer songs

Origin:

Old English grindan, probably of Germanic origin. Although no cognates are known, it may be distantly related to Latin frendere 'rub away, gnash'