Grain Definition

grān
grained, graining, grains
noun
grains
A small, hard seed or seedlike fruit, esp. that of any cereal plant, as wheat, rice, corn, rye, etc.
Webster's New World
Cereal seeds in general.
Webster's New World
The seeds of a specific cereal.
Webster's New World
Any plant or plants producing cereal seeds.
Webster's New World
A relatively small discrete particulate or crystalline mass.
A grain of sand.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
grained, graining
To form into grains; granulate.
Webster's New World
To paint or otherwise finish (a surface) in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.
Webster's New World
To give a granular or rough texture to.
American Heritage
To form grains.
Webster's New World
To remove the hair from (hides)
Webster's New World
idiom
against the grain
  • Contrary to custom, one's inclination, or good sense.
American Heritage
with a grain of salt
  • With reservations; skeptically:

    Take that advice with a grain of salt.

American Heritage
against the grain
  • contrary to one's feelings or wishes, to prevailing trends or attitudes, etc.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Grain

Noun

Singular:
grain
Plural:
grains

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Grain

Origin of Grain

  • From Old French grain, grein, from Latin grānum (“seed”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm (“grain”). Compare English corn.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old French graine from Latin grānum gr̥ə-no- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • See groin (“part of the body”).

    From Wiktionary

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