— grindable , adj. — grindability , n. — grindingly , adv.
/gruynd/ , v. , ground or ( Rare ) grinded; grinding; n.
v.t.
1. to wear, smooth, or sharpen by abrasion or friction; whet: to grind a lens.
2. to reduce to fine particles, as by pounding or crushing; bray, triturate, or pulverize.
3. to oppress, torment, or crush: to grind the poor.
4. to rub harshly or gratingly; grate together; grit: to grind one's teeth.
5. to operate by turning a crank: to grind a hand organ.
6. to produce by crushing or abrasion: to grind flour.
7. Slang. to annoy; irritate; irk: It really grinds me when he's late.
v.i.
8. to perform the operation of reducing to fine particles.
9. to rub harshly; grate.
10. to be or become ground.
11. to be polished or sharpened by friction.
12. Informal. to work or study laboriously (often fol. by away ): He was grinding away at his algebra.
13. Slang. (in a dance) to rotate the hips in a suggestive manner. Cf. bump (def. 11).
14. grind out ,
a. to produce in a routine or mechanical way: to grind out magazine stories.
b. to extinguish by rubbing the lighted end against a hard surface: to grind out a cigarette.
n.
15. the act of grinding.
16. a grinding sound.
17. a grade of particle fineness into which a substance is ground: The coffee is available in various grinds for different coffee makers.
18. laborious, usually uninteresting work: Copying all the footnotes was a grind.
19. Informal. an excessively diligent student.
20. Slang. a dance movement in which the hips are rotated in a suggestive or erotic manner. Cf. bump (def. 22).
[ bef. 950; ME grinden, OE grindan; akin to Goth grinda-, L frendere ]
Syn. 2. crush, powder, comminute, pound. 3. persecute, plague, afflict, trouble. 4. abrade.