grind

From Middle English grynden, from Old English grindan, from Proto-West Germanic *grindan, from Proto-Germanic *grindaną.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian gríende, griene (“to grind, mill”), Dutch grinden (“to grind”, rare) and grind (“gravel, shingle”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹaɪnd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪnd

grind (third-person singular simple present grinds, present participle grinding, simple past and past participle ground or grinded) (see usage notes below)

1. (transitive) To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion.
2. (transitive) To shape with the force of friction.

   grind a lens; grind an axe

3. (metalworking) To remove material by rubbing with an abrasive surface.
4. (intransitive) To become ground, pulverized, or polished by friction.

   This corn grinds well.

   Steel grinds to a sharp edge.

5. To move with much difficulty or friction; to grate.
6. (sports, intransitive) To slide the flat portion of a skateboard or snowboard across an obstacle such as a railing.
7. (transitive) To oppress, hold down or weaken.
8. (slang, intransitive) To rotate the hips erotically.
   • 1984, Prince (lyrics and music), “Darling Nikki”, in Purple Rain, performed by Prince and the Revolution:

     She said, "How'd you like to waste some time?" / And I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind

9. (slang) To dance in a sexually suggestive way with both partners in very close proximity, often pressed against each other.
10. (video games) To repeat a task a large number of times in a row to achieve a specific goal.

    These enemies give lots of loot when killed, so many players fight them to grind for resources.

    The first level of the game is the best place to grind extra lives.

    • 2013, Will Luton, Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away, New Riders, →ISBN, page 38:

      Similarly, nearly all massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as Dungeons & Dragons Online, feature grind: Players repeat tasks, or often “quests”, to gain in-game currency to spend on weapons or other ancillary items.

    • 2015 February 14, Steven Strom, “Evolve Review: Middle of the food chain”, in Ars Technica‎:

      To extend the variety past that, you'll need to unlock new units in each class, meaning you have to grind through the rather lengthy process of using every one of your class’ weapons and skills significantly across several matches.

11. (transitive) To operate by turning a crank.

    to grind an organ

12. To produce mechanically and repetitively as if by turning a crank.
13. (computing, dated) To automatically format and indent code.
14. To instill through repetitive teaching.

    Grinding lessons into students' heads does not motivate them to learn.

15. (slang, Hawaii) To eat.

    Eh, brah, let's go grind.

16. (intransitive, slang) To work or study hard; to hustle or drudge.
    • 1862, Frederic W. Farrar, St. Winifred's: or the World of School:

      One evening, during evening work, Charlie was trying hard to do the verses which had been set to his form. […] Wilton, whose conduct had been more impertinent than that of any one else, said to Charlie—
      “I say, young Evson, how you are grinding.”
      “I have these verses to do,” said Charlie simply.

17. (transitive, slang) To annoy or irritate (a person); to grind one's gears.
    • 2003, Steven Wunderink, Minding Your Spiritual Business: Life Stories with Life Sense, page 139:

      I need to pontificate on something that really grinds me. So here goes. I am sick and tired of lazy thinkers using the defense of “legislated morality.”

• In the sports and video game senses, the past participle and past tense form grinded is often used instead of the irregular form ground.
• Historically, there also existed a past participle form grounden, but it is now archaic or obsolete.
• When used to denote sexually suggestive dancing between two partners, the past participle and past tense form grinded is almost always used.

Strong conjugation (all other senses)

Weak conjugation (sports, video games, dance move)

grind (countable and uncountable, plural grinds)

1. The act of reducing to powder, or of sharpening, by friction.
2. Something that has been reduced to powder, something that has been ground.
3. A specific degree of pulverization of coffee beans.

   This bag contains espresso grind.

4. A tedious and laborious task.

   Synonym: chore

   This homework is a grind.

   • 1961 February, D. Bertram, “The lines to Wetherby and their traffic”, in Trains Illustrated, page 101:

     Running again in more open agricultural country, the Harrogate line encounters a short downgrade before the stiff uphill grind to Harrogate begins.

5. A grinding trick on a skateboard or snowboard.
6. (archaic, slang) One who studies hard.

   Synonym: swot

   • 1900, “Gifford Arthur Nelson”, in The Naughty-Naughtian, page 118:

     If you are at all bright, don't be a grind. Grinding may make a second-hand genius of you (for all the real things are dead), and if you become a genius you will be sure to smoke dope or swallow laudanum. They all did it.

   • 1911, Sunset, volume 27, page 440:

     […] I suppose I don't know much about books, compared with you—”
     “Oh, I was never much of a grind,” the other cut in hastily.

7. (uncountable, music) Clipping of grindcore (“subgenre of heavy metal”).
8. (slang) Hustle; hard work. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

   I pledge allegiance to the grind. I'm up early as hell tryna get mine.

From Faroese grind (“pilot-whale meat”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɪnd/
• Rhymes: -ɪnd

grind (plural grinds)

1. A traditional communal pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands.

• grindadráp

• D-ring, dring

Either a nasal variant of grij or gërdhij, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrendʰ- (compare English grind, Lithuanian gréndžiu (“to scrape, scratch”). Same sense development as with grih.

grind (aorist grinda, participle grindur)

1. to brawl, to fight, to wrangle over

• grij
• gërryej
• gërdhij

• IPA^(key): /ɣrɪnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: grind
• Rhymes: -ɪnt

From Middle Dutch grint, grinde, from Old Dutch *grinda, from Proto-Germanic *grindō (“sand, pebbles”).

• grinde, grinte (obsolete)
• grint

grind n (uncountable)

1. (geology) gravel, pebbles, shingle

• grindbed
• grindbeton
• grinden
• grindig
• grindpad
• grindweg

• Afrikaans: grint

Germanic, perhaps from the above root as a crusty rash.

• grinde

grind n (uncountable)

1. (archaic, pathology) The diseases scabies (human), mange (canine)

• schurft m

• grindig (adjective)

• dring

From Old Norse grind (“gate”).

grind f (genitive singular grindar, plural grindir)

1. A framework
2. A grille

The term is a Faroese invention. A school of pilot whales reminds of a framework (see grind above) in the sea, by swimming very close to each other. More likely the word is related to the English word ground and refers to the whales frequently running aground or easily driven onto ground. Another theory suggests it refers to grinding, scraping or rubbing, in as mating behaviour.On the etymology of Faroese Grind “school of pilot whales” The Faroese term was loaned in many other languages; compare German Grindwal, Danish grindehval or Dutch griend.

grind f (genitive singular grindar, plural grindir)

1. A school of grindahvalur (pilot whales)
2. The tvøst (meat) and spik (blubber) of the pilot whales
3. The act of pilot whaling, grindadráp
4. (figuratively) An unexpected meal

• Azerbaijani: qrind
• Belarusian: гры́нда (hrýnda)
• Bulgarian: гри́нда (grínda)
• ⇒ Danish: grindehval
• Dutch: griend
• Estonian: grinda
• German: Grindwal
• Icelandic: grind
• Russian: гри́нда (grínda)
• Swedish: grindval
• Ukrainian: гри́нда (hrýnda)
• Uzbek: grind

• IPA^(key): /krɪnt/
• Rhymes: -ɪnt

From Old Norse grind.

grind f (genitive singular grindar, nominative plural grindur)

1. lattice, grid, grille
2. framework
3. (order theory) lattice

From Faroese grind.

grind f (genitive singular grindar, nominative plural grindur)

1. pilot whale

• (pilot whale): grindahvalur, marsvín

• girnd

From Old Norse grind.

grind f or m (definite singular grinda or grinden, indefinite plural grinder, definite plural grindene)

1. A hinged gate across a road or path where it is intersected by a fence.
2. A framework
3. A grille

• “grind” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “grind” in The Ordnett Dictionary

• IPA^(key): /ɡrɪnd/, /ɡrɪnː/
• (dialects with palatalization) IPA^(key): /ɡrɪɲː/

Inherited from Old Norse grind.

grind f (definite singular grinda, indefinite plural grinder, definite plural grindene)

1. A hinged gate across a road or path where it is intersected by a fence.
2. A framework
3. A grille

• beingrind
• leikegrind
• takgrind
• trappegrind

Borrowed from English grind

grind m (definite singular grinden, uncountable)

1. (music) Clipping of grindcore.

• “grind” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-Germanic *grindiz.

grind f (genitive grindar, plural grindr)

1. a gate made of spars or bars
2. haven, dock
3. storehouses

• “grind”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

From Old Swedish grind, from Old Norse grind, from Proto-Germanic *grindiz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrendʰ-.

grind c

1. A gate; door-like structure outside a building
2. (computing) A gate, logical pathway

• ringd