grind verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of grind verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

grind

verb
 
/ɡraɪnd/
 
/ɡraɪnd/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they grind
 
/ɡraɪnd/
 
/ɡraɪnd/
he / she / it grinds
 
/ɡraɪndz/
 
/ɡraɪndz/
past simple ground
 
/ɡraʊnd/
 
/ɡraʊnd/
past participle ground
 
/ɡraʊnd/
 
/ɡraʊnd/
-ing form grinding
 
/ˈɡraɪndɪŋ/
 
/ˈɡraɪndɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    food/flour/coffee

  1. [transitive] grind something (down/up) | grind something (to/into something) to break or press something into very small pieces between two hard surfaces or using a special machine
    • to grind coffee/corn
    • The animal has teeth that grind its food into a pulp.
    see also ground
    Extra Examples
    • The cement need not be finely ground.
    • The coffee is ground to a fine powder.
    • freshly ground black pepper
    • machinery for grinding wheat into flour
    Topics Cooking and eatingc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • coarsely
    • finely
    • down
    preposition
    • into
    • to
    phrases
    • freshly ground
    See full entry
  2. [transitive] grind something to produce something such as flour by grinding
    • The flour is ground using traditional methods.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • coarsely
    • finely
    • down
    preposition
    • into
    • to
    phrases
    • freshly ground
    See full entry
  3. (North American English)
    (also mince British and North American English)
    [transitive] grind something to cut food, especially meat, into very small pieces using a special machine (called a mincer)
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • coarsely
    • finely
    • down
    preposition
    • into
    • to
    phrases
    • freshly ground
    See full entry
  4. make sharp/smooth

  5. [transitive] grind something to make something sharp or smooth by rubbing it against a hard surface
    • a special stone for grinding knives
  6. press into surface

  7. [transitive] to press or rub something into a surface
    • grind something into something He ground his cigarette into the ashtray.
    • grind something in The dirt on her hands was ground in.
  8. rub together

  9. [intransitive, transitive] to rub together, or to make hard objects rub together, often producing an unpleasant noise
    • grind (together) Parts of the machine were grinding together noisily.
    • grind something (together) She grinds her teeth when she is asleep.
    • He ground the gears on the car.
  10. machine

  11. [transitive] grind something to turn the handle of a machine that grinds something
    • to grind a pepper mill
  12. Word OriginOld English grindan, probably of Germanic origin. Although no cognates are known, it may be distantly related to Latin frendere ‘rub away, gnash’.
Idioms
bring something to a grinding halt
  1. to make something gradually go slower until it stops completely
    • Roadworks brought traffic to a grinding halt.
grind to a halt | come to a grinding halt
  1. to go slower gradually and then stop completely
    • Production ground to a halt during the strike.
    • Her career ground to a halt when the twins were born.
have an axe to grind
  1. to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause
    • She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety.
    • These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind.
See grind in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
influence
verb
 
 
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