grind
• verb (past and past part. ground) 1 reduce to small particles or powder by crushing. 2 sharpen, smooth, or produce by crushing or friction. 3 rub together or move gratingly. 4 (grind down) wear (someone) down with harsh treatment. 5 (grind out) produce (something) slowly and laboriously. 6 grinding oppressive and seemingly endless: grinding poverty. 7 (often grind away) work or study hard. 8 informal (of a dancer) rotate the hips. • noun 1 an act or process of grinding. 2 hard dull work: the daily grind. — PHRASES grind to a halt (or come to a grinding halt) stop laboriously and noisily. — DERIVATIVES grinder noun grindingly adverb. — ORIGIN Old English.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
| 
