grindings

Meanings

1. 1nounpluraltechnical

   The small particles, dust or powder that are left behind when something is ground down, such as metal, stone or grain.

   Grammar: Plural only here: the grindings were swept up.

   Patterns

   • grindings from something

   The workshop floor was covered with metal grindings.

   He collected the grindings from the stone and mixed them into a paste.

   Fine grindings of coffee beans clogged the filter.

2. 2nounpluralliteraryrare

   Harsh, scraping noises made by hard surfaces moving against each other, such as gears or teeth.

   Grammar: Used for repeated sounds: the grindings of the old gears.

   Patterns

   • the grindings of something

   The grindings of the old mill wheel echoed down the valley.

   She woke to the grindings of his teeth in the next room.

Common combinations

metal grindings

Metal grindings had collected under the machine.

collect the grindings

Workers collect the grindings for recycling.

fine grindings

Fine grindings drifted in the air like dust.

grindings of the gears

The grindings of the gears told him the car needed repair.

Synonyms and how they differ

filings

Filings are particles produced by filing metal, whereas grindings come from a grinding wheel or stone.

shavings

Shavings are thin curls cut off by a blade, unlike the dusty grindings made by abrasion.

powder

Powder is the general word for fine particles and does not suggest how they were made.

dust

Dust is finer and lighter, and it is not specific to a grinding process.

Word family

grind verb

to crush or sharpen by rubbing

grinder noun

a machine or person that grinds

grinding adjective

harsh or tiring, as in grinding poverty

ground adjective

crushed into small pieces

Commonly confused: grindings or grounds?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “grindings”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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