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1. Material resulting from the process of grinding
   "vegetable grindings clogged the drain"
    
2. A harsh and strident sound (as of the grinding of gears)
    
3. The wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water, wind or ice
   - abrasion, attrition, detrition

1. Crushing and oppressive
   "grinding poverty"

1. Reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
   "grind the spices in a mortar";
   - mash, crunch, bray [archaic], comminute [rare]
    
2. Press or grind with a crushing noise
   - crunch, cranch, craunch, scrunch
    
3. Make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
   "grind one's teeth in anger";
   - grate
    
4. Create by grinding
   "grind designs into the glass bowl"
    
5. Shape or form by grinding
   "grind lenses for glasses and cameras"
    
6. [informal] Work hard
   "Lexicographers grind all day long";
   - labor [US], labour [Brit, Cdn], toil, fag [informal], travail [literary], drudge, dig [US, informal], moil [N. Amer]
    
7. [informal] Dance by rotating the pelvis in an erotically suggestive way, often while in contact with one's partner such that the dancers' legs are interlaced

Derived forms: grindings

Type of: atom, break up, corpuscle, create, dance, do work, forge, form, fragment, fragmentise [Brit], fragmentize, friction, make, mold [N. Amer], molecule, mote, mould [Brit, Cdn], noise, particle, press, rubbing, shape, speck, trip the light fantastic, trip the light fantastic toe, work

Encyclopedia: Grinding