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grain

grain

38 1.0
A very small hard piece of something like salt or sand
  • noun
  • /ɡreɪn/
: grano
  • Not a grain is left, all crushed and scattered.
  • grains of sand
  • grains of dust
  • a grain of salt

If you collect some of those grains of sand, you get Uber wealth.

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Examples

  • I ate my rice one by one, chewing and swallowing each grain before continuing.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I can build a castle From a single grain of sand

  • Last year, in Providence, you sold grain to the resistance.

  • Meteorites come in all sizes, from no larger than grains of dust to many tons.

    Academic text (1992)
  • A few of them hoarded some wheat grains to keep the wheat safe and sacred.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Every inch of ground blossomed with flowers and grains, including produce never before conceivable in Israel.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I can see a grain of sand in there.

  • Not a grain is left, all crushed and scattered.

  • We found this woman picking through the dirt for a few grains split from the sacks of cereal.

Synonyms

mote
vsgrain
  • Literature
6 8.2

A very small speck of dust or dirt

is larger and denotes a small hard particle rather than a tiny speck
granule
vsgrain
4 4.6

A very small piece like a grain, for example of sugar or sand

is the general term for a small hard particle
granum
vsgrain
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A very small piece like a grain of dust

is the normal modern word for such small hard particles

Idioms

16 6.6

In a way that is different from what most people expect

9 7.4

To do something very different from what most people expect or usually do

Compounds

21 2.7

A grain that still has all its natural parts, like the outer layer and soft inside

grain alcohol
  • Specialized
5 4.6

Pure alcohol made by heating fermented grain, used in medicine, as a solvent or fuel additive

grain of truth
  • Informal
5 3.9

A small real part of a story that is mostly false

2 3.0

The lines and patterns you see on the surface of wood that its long thin parts make

feed grain
  • Specialized
1 3.3

Seeds of crops like corn or barley that farmers grow to feed animals

1 2.3

A small dry seed from plants like wheat or rice that people eat

grain sorghum
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A tall plant grown for small edible seeds used for food or animal feed

spent grain
  • Specialized
1 7.3

Leftover grain from making beer that farmers use as animal feed

1 1.9

A field where crops like wheat and barley grow

brewer's grain
  • Specialized
1 6.3

Leftover grain from making beer that farmers feed to animals

seed grain
  • Specialized
1 3.4

Kernels of crops like corn that farmers keep to plant next season

horse grain
  • Indian
1 9.9

A climbing plant with leaves and beans grown for animal feed and food

A person or business that buys and sells grains like wheat

1 7.3

A small insect whose caterpillars eat stored grain and damage food

grain cleaner
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A machine that removes dirt and small stones from grain before storage or sale

A small moth whose larvae eat stored grains like wheat or corn and damage them

metric grain
  • Specialized
7.9

A unit of weight that equals 50 milligrams or 1/4 carat used for pearls and diamonds

grain blower
  • Specialized
6.1

A machine that uses air to move grain

A small plant from northwestern North America with green and purple bell-shaped flowers

two-grain spelt
  • Specialized
9.9

A hard red wheat grown in Russia and Germany used mostly to feed farm animals

How Big

boulder
77 2.2
cobble
  • Archaic
5 7.7
pebble
52 1.0
grit
  • UK
1 8.6
grain
38 1.0

Surface Forms

grain singular
grains plural

Etymology

Grain comes from the Latin granum, which means 'seed', and people used the word for any very small hard particle like a bit of sand or salt. So a grain of salt is remembered as a tiny 'seed' of the substance.