Meaning & use
gritter
Last updated
UK/ˈɡrɪtə/
US/ˈɡrɪtər/
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A truck that spreads grit or salt on roads in cold weather to stop ice forming and make driving safer.
Grammar: A plain countable noun: a gritter, two gritters.
Patterns
- a gritter on the road
- send out the gritters
The gritter went down our street at five in the morning.
Councils sent out the gritters before the frost arrived.
A gritter was stuck in the snow near the hill.
Word forms
| plural | gritters |
|---|
Common combinations
- gritter lorry
- A gritter lorry passed with its orange light flashing.
- send out the gritters
- The council will send out the gritters tonight.
- gritter driver
- The gritter driver works through the night in winter.
- gritter route
- Our road is not on the gritter route.
- gritters out
- Gritters were out across the county after the forecast.
Synonyms and how they differ
- salt truck
- Salt truck is the usual American term, though gritters may spread a grit-and-salt mix.
- snowplow
- A snowplow pushes snow aside, while a gritter spreads material to melt or grip ice.
- spreader
- Spreader is a general word for any machine that scatters material and is less specific than gritter.
Word family
Commonly confused: gritter or snowplow?
gritter vs snowplow
A snowplow clears snow from the road, whereas a gritter treats the surface against ice.
Practice
What does a gritter do?
Choose one answer.
A gritter spreads grit or salt to stop ice forming. The other vehicles do different road or street jobs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gritter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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