grinding
/ˈɡɹaɪnd.ɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
grinding is spelled G-R-I-N-D-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, grinding means “The action of grinding together or crushing into small particles; the sound of this action” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of grinding is grindings.
How many letters and syllables are in grinding?
| Letters | 8: G-R-I-N-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is grinding?
Grinding appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce grinding?
- /ˈɡɹaɪnd.ɪŋ/
Grinding has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-grinding.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of grinding
- grindings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grinding mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The action of grinding together or crushing into small particles; the sound of this action.
Ominous creakings and grindings came from the innards of the machine.
- 2
The action of grinding a workpiece to change its size, shape, and surface finish.
Grinding sometimes involves tight tolerances on the order of a few microns.
- 3
A form of dance in which two people rub their bodies together.
No grinding is allowed on the dance floor at the junior prom: it isn't age-appropriate.
- 4
Repeatedly performing the same quest or similar in-game activity in order to amass points or wealth.
I really hate the grinding to get that 1% chance item.
- 5
informalThe act of doing the daily grind.
A: Hey Bob, how's it goin? B: Meh, I'm tired of grinding, man.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the act or gratingly sound of grinding.
The meeting came to a grinding halt when the two sides could not agree.
- 2
Relentlessly taxing; burdensome; exacting to the point of exhaustion.
A week of filled with grinding toil.
- 3
obsoleteCrushing; oppressive; overwhelming.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of grind
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grinding in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does grinding come from?
Inherited from Middle English gryndynge. By surface analysis, grind + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).