<p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>to wear, smooth, or sharpen by abrasion or friction; whet: to grind a lens.</li><li>to reduce to fine particles, as by pounding or crushing; bray, triturate, or pulverize.</li><li>to oppress, torment, or crush: to grind minimum-wage employees.</li><li>to rub harshly or gratingly; grate together; grit: to grind one's teeth.</li><li>to operate by turning a crank: to grind a hand organ.</li><li>to produce by crushing or abrasion: to grind flour.</li><li>Slang: to annoy; irritate; irk: It really grinds me when he's late.</li><li>(used without object) to perform the operation of reducing to fine particles.</li><li>to rub harshly; grate.</li><li>to be or become ground.</li><li>to be polished or sharpened by friction.</li><li>Informal: to work or study laboriously (often followed by away): He was grinding away at his algebra.</li><li>Digital Technology: (in a video game) to perform a monotonous task repeatedly in order to advance a character to a higher level or rank: You have to grind for hours before you can embark on the main story mission.</li><li>Slang: (in a dance) to rotate the hips in a suggestive manner.</li></ul><p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>the act of grinding.</li><li>a grinding sound.</li><li>a grade of particle fineness into which a substance is ground: The coffee is available in various grinds for different coffee makers.</li><li>laborious, usually uninteresting work: Copying all the footnotes was a grind.</li><li>Informal: an excessively diligent student.</li><li>Slang: a dance movement in which the hips are rotated in a suggestive or erotic manner.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb Phrase</strong></p><ul><li>to produce in a routine or mechanical way: to grind out magazine stories.</li><li>to extinguish by rubbing the lighted end against a hard surface: to grind out a cigarette.</li></ul>