GRAIN


Meaning of GRAIN in English

/ greɪn; NAmE / noun

1.

[ U , C ] the small hard seeds of food plants such as wheat , rice, etc.; a single seed of such a plant :

America's grain exports

a few grains of rice

—see also wholegrain —picture at cereal

2.

[ C ] a small hard piece of particular substances :

a grain of salt / sand / sugar

3.

[ C ] (used especially in negative sentences) a very small amount

SYN iota :

There isn't a grain of truth in those rumours.

4.

[ C ] a small unit of weight, equal to 0.00143 of a pound or 0.0648 of a gram, used for example for weighing medicines

5.

[ U ] the natural direction of lines in wood, cloth, etc. or of layers of rock; the pattern of lines that you can see :

to cut a piece of wood along / across the grain

6.

[ U , C ] how rough or smooth a surface feels :

wood of coarse / fine grain

IDIOMS

- be / go against the grain

••

WORD ORIGIN

Middle English (originally in the sense seed, grain of corn ): from Old French grain , from Latin granum .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.