I. grind 1 /ɡraɪnd/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle ground /ɡraʊnd/)
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: grindan ]
1 . INTO SMALL PIECES [transitive]
a) ( also grind up ) to break something such as corn or coffee beans into small pieces or powder, either in a machine or between two hard surfaces:
freshly ground pepper
b) American English to cut food, especially raw meat, into very small pieces by putting it through a machine SYN mince British English :
ground beef
2 . SMOOTH/SHARP [transitive] to make something smooth or sharp by rubbing it on a hard surface or by using a machine:
a stone for grinding knives and scissors
The lenses are ground to a high standard of precision.
3 . PRESS
a) [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to press something onto a surface and rub it with a strong twisting movement
grind something into something
He dropped a cigar butt and ground it into the carpet with his heel.
He ground out his cigarette on the window ledge.
b) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to press hard against something
grind against/together
as these plates (=large areas of land) grind against each other
4 . grind your teeth to rub your upper and lower teeth together, making a noise
5 . grind to a halt ( also come to a grinding halt )
a) if a vehicle grinds to a halt, it stops gradually:
Traffic ground to a halt as it approached the accident site.
b) if a country, organization, or process grinds to a halt, its activity or the process gradually stops:
After two days the talks had ground to a halt.
6 . PERFORM A MOVEMENT to perform a special movement in ↑ skateboarding or ROLLERBLADING , which involves moving sideways along the edge of something, so that the bar connecting the wheels of the ↑ skateboard or ↑ Rollerblade presses hard against the edge
⇨ have an axe to grind at ↑ axe 1 (4)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ press to push something down or against a surface with your fingers or foot:
The doctor gently pressed her stomach.
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To move forward, press the accelerator.
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I pressed ‘delete’ and started again.
▪ squeeze to press something inwards from both sides:
It’s one of those balls that make a funny noise when you squeeze it.
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Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the sauce.
▪ squash to press something against a surface accidentally and damage it by making it flat:
Don’t squash the tomatoes.
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He sat on my hat and squashed it.
▪ crush to press something very hard so that it breaks into very small pieces, or is very badly damaged:
Crush two cloves of garlic.
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The front of the car was completely crushed in the crash.
▪ mash to press cooked vegetables or fruit until they are soft and smooth:
Mash the potatoes while they are warm.
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Babies love mashed bananas.
▪ grind to press something solid until it becomes a powder, using a machine or tool:
the machine that grinds the corn
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freshly ground coffee
grind somebody ↔ down phrasal verb
to treat someone in a cruel way for such a long time that they lose all courage and hope SYN oppress :
I’ve never let male colleagues grind me down.
grind on phrasal verb
to continue for an unpleasantly long time:
As the negotiations grind on, time is passing towards the deadline.
grind something ↔ out phrasal verb
1 . to produce information, writing, music etc in such large amounts that it becomes boring SYN churn out :
Frank just keeps grinding out detective stories.
2 . written to say something in a rough, angry, or emotional way:
‘You don’t love him,’ he ground out.
II. grind 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [singular] something that is hard work and physically or mentally tiring:
I find the journey to work a real grind.
workers emerging from their daily grind in the factory
2 . [countable] American English informal a student who never does anything except study SYN swot British English
3 . [countable] a movement in ↑ skateboarding or ROLLERBLADING , which involves moving sideways along the edge of something, so that the bar connecting the wheels of the ↑ skateboard or ↑ Rollerblade presses hard against the edge