grind
To crush something, like coffee beans or grain, into very small pieces or powder.
To crush or break a solid substance into smaller pieces or powder, usually by pressing and rubbing it against a hard surface or between hard parts.
The regular, hard, and boring work or study that you do every day.
A person’s usual routine of hard, tiring, and often boring work or study.
To keep working or studying very hard for a long time, usually on something not fun.
To work or study very hard and steadily for a long period, especially on something difficult or boring.
To push or move something hard against something else so that it makes a rough sound or slowly wears away.
To rub or press something firmly against another surface, often producing a harsh noise or gradually wearing it away.
In games, to do the same thing again and again to get more levels, money, or items.
In video games, to repeat the same or similar actions many times in order to gain experience, items, or other rewards and make progress.
How big or small the pieces are after something is ground, for example coffee or meat.
The particular size and texture of pieces produced by grinding a substance, especially food products such as coffee or meat.
A long time when you must repeat the same hard thing again and again to move forward, especially in games.
A long, often tiring period of repetitive effort needed to achieve progress, especially in video games or competitive activities.
To dance very close to someone and rub your body against them in a sexual way.
To dance or move your body while pressing it closely and repeatedly against another person in a sexual or sexually suggestive way.
- Base: grind
- Plural: grinds
- Base: grind
- 3rd Person Singular: grinds
- Present Participle: grinding
- Past: grinded, ground
- Past Participle: ground
- Irregular past participle: ground Verb
back to the grind
1return to usual hard routine
To go back to your normal work or study life after a break.
- Vacation is over; tomorrow it’s back to the grind.
- After lunch, we went back to the grind in the office.
- He sighed and went back to the grind of answering emails.
grind away (at something)
1keep working hard for long
To continue working very hard on something for a long time.
- She’s been grinding away at that novel for years.
- I spent the weekend grinding away at my tax return.
- He quietly ground away at his research until he made a breakthrough.
grind down (someone/something)
1wear someone/something down over time
To make someone or something weaker slowly by giving them many problems or a lot of pressure.
- Years of debt finally ground them down.
- The constant criticism ground her down.
- The waves slowly ground down the rocks on the shore.
grind on (someone)
1dance while pressed sexually against someone
To dance very close to someone and rub your body against them in a sexual way.
- She started grinding on him when the music slowed down.
- He tried to grind on her, but she moved away.
- People were grinding on each other all over the dance floor.
grind one’s teeth
1rub teeth together hard
To press your teeth together and move them so they rub, often when you are angry, stressed, or asleep.
- He grinds his teeth at night and needs a mouthguard.
- She was so angry she started grinding her teeth.
- Stress can cause people to grind their teeth without noticing.
grind out (something)
1produce something slowly with effort
To make or do something, but in a slow, hard, or mechanical way, not with joy or creativity.
- He grinds out a new blog post every day.
- The team managed to grind out a narrow victory.
- She ground out another report late last night.
grind to a standstill
1slowly come to a complete stop
To become slower and slower until nothing is happening or moving.
- The city ground to a standstill during the snowstorm.
- Talks have ground to a standstill over money issues.
- Without funding, the project will grind to a standstill.
grind to a standstill
1slowly stop after problems
to slow down and then stop completely
- Without spare parts, the factory gradually ground to a standstill.
- After days of heavy snow, the city ground to a standstill.
- Bureaucracy can make even simple projects grind to a standstill.
- The traffic ground to a standstill.
grind up (something)
1crush into small pieces or powder
To crush something into small pieces or powder.
- Grind up the nuts before adding them to the sauce.
- The machine can grind up plastic bottles for recycling.
- She ground up the herbs with a little oil.
that grinds my gears
1really annoys or irritates me
Used to say that something makes you very annoyed.
- People talking loudly on trains really grind my gears.
- You know what grinds my gears? Late buses.
- It grinds my gears when meetings start late for no reason.
the grind
1long period of hard, dull effort
A time when you have to work very hard, often doing the same thing many times and not enjoying it much.
- She took a break from the grind to travel for a year.
- The grind of training every day finally paid off.
- He doesn’t mind the grind; he likes working hard.
daily grind
1ordinary routine of hard, dull work
Your normal life of work or study that is hard and not very exciting.
- She escaped the daily grind by moving to a small town and working online.
- After the holidays, everyone returned to the daily grind.
- He enjoys the daily grind of running his own cafe.
daily grind
2Boring everyday work routine
The regular, boring, and tiring part of everyday work or life.
- He wanted to escape the daily grind and travel the world.
- The vacation was a break from the daily grind.
grind to a halt
1slow down and then stop completely
To become slower and slower and then stop completely.
- The economy has ground to a halt in recent months.
- Traffic ground to a halt after the accident.
- Production ground to a halt when the parts ran out.
- Talks between the two companies have ground to a halt.
- Traffic ground to a halt after the tunnel was closed.
- Production ground to a halt when the factory lost power.