📒 to break or press something into very small pieces between two hard surfaces or using a special machine
- to grind coffee/corn
- The animal has teeth that grind its food into a pulp.
- The cement need not be finely ground.
📒 to produce something such as flour by grinding
- The flour is ground using traditional methods.
📒 to cut food, especially meat, into very small pieces using a special machine (called a mincer)
📒 to make something sharp or smooth by rubbing it against a hard surface
- a special stone for grinding knives
📒 to press or rub something into a surface
- grind something into something He ground his cigarette into the ashtray.
- grind something in The dirt on her hands was ground in.
📒 to rub together, or to make hard objects rub together, often producing an unpleasant noise
- grind (together) Parts of the machine were grinding together noisily.
- grind something (together) She grinds her teeth when she is asleep.
- He ground the gears on the car.
📒 to turn the handle of a machine that grinds something
📒 to make something gradually go slower until it stops completely
- Roadworks brought traffic to a grinding halt.
📒 to go slower gradually and then stop completely
- Production ground to a halt during the strike.
- Her career ground to a halt when the twins were born.
📒 to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause
- She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety.
- These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind.