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grinder

noun

Simple meaning

Any of different machines or devices that grind things, such as by grinding them down or grinding them up.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

grynder

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɹaɪndɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars

  2. Any of various machines or devices that grind things, such as by grinding them down or grinding them up.

  3. A grinding machine: any of various machine tools for grinding (either heavy or light grinding, but precise either way).

  4. Any of various power tools with a spinning abrasive disc, used for smoothing, shaping, or deburring materials, usually metal.

  5. A machine tool that polishes metal

  6. One who grinds something, such as the teeth.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars

Used this way, grinder is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Grinding / various

knife grinder

Large / submarine

meat grinderorgan grinderbench grinder

Kitchen

coffee grinder

Other combinations

surface grinderfood grinderspice grinder

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • grindverbBase word

    Press or grind with a crushing noise.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • coffee grindernounCompound term

    A mill that grinds roasted coffee beans.

  • meat grindernounCompound term

    A mill for grinding meat.

  • organ-grindernounCompound term

    A street musician who plays a hand organ or hurdy-gurdy.

  • pepper grindernounCompound term

    A mill for grinding pepper.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: grinding tooth with a broad crown

molar

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.