GRINDING

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does grinding mean? 

• GRINDING (noun)
  The noun GRINDING has 3 senses:

1. material resulting from the process of grinding

2. a harsh and strident sound (as of the grinding of gears)

3. the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice

  Familiarity information: GRINDING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRINDING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Material resulting from the process of grinding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

vegetable grindings clogged the drain

Hypernyms ("grinding" is a kind of...):

atom; corpuscle; molecule; mote; particle; speck ((nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything)

Derivation:

grind (reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A harsh and strident sound (as of the grinding of gears)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("grinding" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

grind (make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

abrasion; attrition; detrition; grinding

Hypernyms ("grinding" is a kind of...):

friction; rubbing (the resistance encountered when one body is moved in contact with another)

Derivation:

grind (reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading)

 Context examples 

They have a kind of hard flints, which, by grinding against other stones, they form into instruments, that serve instead of wedges, axes, and hammers.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

With strained ears, I listened, and heard downstairs the grinding of the key in the great lock and the falling back of the heavy door.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) Somatic (muscular); pains and aches, twitching, stiffness, myoclonic jerks, grinding of teeth, unsteady voice, increased muscular tone.

(HAMA - Somatic (Muscular), NCI Thesaurus)

“It is in my thoughts,” said Black Simon, still pensively grinding his sword, “that we may have need of your strings ere sundown. I dreamed of the red cow last night.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I hate it! Nothing but grinding or skylarking.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

An involuntary or unconscious clenching or grinding the teeth, typically during sleep.

(Bruxism, NCI Thesaurus)

A grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars.

(Molar Tooth, NCI Thesaurus)

They are a company of celibates, grinding harshly against one another and growing daily more calloused from the grinding.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

As I continued to thread the tall woods, I could hear from far before me not only the continuous thunder of the surf, but a certain tossing of foliage and grinding of boughs which showed me the sea breeze had set in higher than usual.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)