grind 1 of 2

noun

Definition of grindnext
1
as in scratch
a harsh grating sound the grind of ice in the blender sent the cat running from the room

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits don't be such a grind—go out with your friends and enjoy yourself

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in effort
very hard or unpleasant work yard work is a real grind

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in routine
an established and often automatic or monotonous series of actions followed when engaging in some activity the daily grind of a 50-mile commute was getting old

Synonyms & Similar Words

grind

2 of 2

verb

ˈgrīnd How to pronounce grind (audio)
1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction after they are ground and polished, these stones can be used for jewelry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grit
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound everyone in the car winced when the driver ground the gears trying to shift into second

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to sharpen
to make sharp or sharper better grind down that ax before you even think about trying to cut down that tree

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to polish
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure used the finest polishing paper he could to grind down the facets of the diamond before dusting it with a soft cloth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to scratch
to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface ground the rock against the stone wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to crush
to reduce to fine particles grind whole coffee beans if you want the freshest coffee

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun grind contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of grind are drudgery, labor, toil, travail, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When might drudgery be a better fit than grind?

In some situations, the words drudgery and grind are roughly equivalent. However, drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When would labor be a good substitute for grind?

While the synonyms labor and grind are close in meaning, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

When is toil a more appropriate choice than grind?

The words toil and grind are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

When could travail be used to replace grind?

The synonyms travail and grind are sometimes interchangeable, but travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

In what contexts can work take the place of grind?

The meanings of work and grind largely overlap; however, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grind
Noun
Baseball’s daily grind can create short news cycles, but only if teams give the general public something else to discuss. —Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025 With the everyday grind, parents are often left out of the fun. —Sari Hitchins, Parents, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
This budget-friendly Presto knife sharpener features a two-stage sharpening system for grinding knife blades and honing them to a polished and sharp finish. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2025 But a labor market that has ground to a virtual standstill has ended the trend. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for grind
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grind
  1. scratch
  2. nerd
  3. effort
  4. routine
  5. rub
  6. grit
  7. sharpen
  8. polish
Noun
  • Avoid stacking pans without protection to prevent scratches and chips.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
  • People are now created from scratch.
    — Rohan Pinto, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of scratch
Noun
  • By comparison, his romantic rival Archie (Devon Bostick) is a weirdo, but a more believable one, and Bostick’s banter with Ferreira has a specific kind of romantic chemistry common to hyperintelligent, socially awkward nerds.
    — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
  • My brother was a poet, classics scholar, and charismatic leader of nerds who blossomed into a handsome surfer and then nosedived into schizophrenia and a life of unfiltered Camel cigarettes, caffeine, and antipsychotics.
    — Kim Gordon, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of nerd
Noun
  • The merging of the modern and traditional is an effort to help people find God in a new way, said Reverend Jason Roberson, the head priest at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and to mark the church’s entry into a new century.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
  • With the sandboxing proposal, companies could identify regulations that are obstructing their efforts, and ask for a waiver.
    — Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of effort
Noun
  • Rinse thoroughly before moving through your routine.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The best way to keep your shower mold-free is to stick to a weekly cleaning routine that consists of wiping down the surface with cleaners and wiping the shower dry after each use.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025
Definition of routine
Verb
  • Dip a paper towel or cloth in the jelly, then rub a thin layer all over the surface.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025
  • And while it was expected the two sides would part ways this offseason, first-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn rubbed Rodgers the wrong way after an awkward meeting between the two to discuss their future together.
    — Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of rub
Verb
  • Just over two hours east of San Diego and 15 miles north of the Mexican border town of Mexicali, El Centro has both grit and charm.
    — Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
  • But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite — and a threat to the entire system.
    — Andrew McGowan, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025
Definition of grit
Verb
  • The company has sharpened its focus by divesting its gaming app division, which enables it to concentrate more on ad technology.
    — Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The very tool meant to sharpen medical practice had perhaps blunted it.
    — Murali Doraiswamy, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of sharpen
Verb
  • Given their stature, facilities and squad, this team is a rough diamond waiting to be polished.
    — Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Plenty of brands already offer or are transitioning to TPO-free formulas that contain different photoinitiators (a chemical that ​​makes gel polishes cure under a lamp instead of air-drying like regular polish) such as TPO-L, BAPO, or other resin initiators.
    — Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 5 Sep. 2025
Definition of polish

Phrases Containing grind

Browse Nearby Words

grinches
grind
grind (down)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grind.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grind. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on grind

Nglish: Translation of grind for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

A Guide to Using Semicolons

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Birds Say the Darndest Things

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'
See More

Popular

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
high school student holding a pencil leaning over a sat test
Challenging Standardized Test Words 20 questions to help you score 1600
See All