grain
20
3.7
- noun
- /ɡreɪn/
- Despite his harsh words, there was a grain of sincerity in his apology.
- a grain of truth
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Watch on YouTubeAnd so you want to approach it with that proverbial grain of salt, don't you?
- And so you want to approach it with that proverbial grain of salt, don't you?
- So honestly, take my star ratings with a grain of salt.
- So take it all with a grain of salt.
Examples
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Take that with a grain of salt for whatever that means.
-
While both sides exaggerated their claims, each had some grain of truth.
Academic text (2009) -
Suppose there is a grain of truth to it.
-
Now, this should be taken with a little bit of a grain of salt.
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All myths have a grain of truth.
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I think Amazon reviews are taken with a grain of salt and always have been.
Blog text (12) -
Take that with the proverbial grain of salt.
-
But I'm going to assume there's a grain of truth in all this.
Fiction book (1995) -
And so you want to approach it with that proverbial grain of salt, don't you?
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It's an old folk rhyme, and like most of them, there's a grain of truth in it.
Synonyms
447
4.2
A very small piece or amount of something
5
4.6
A very small piece like a grain, for example of sugar or sand
A very small piece like a grain of dust
Idioms
- Informal
8
7.4
To do something very different from what most people expect or usually do
Compounds
23
2.7
A grain that still has all its natural parts, like the outer layer and soft inside
- Specialized
2
4.6
Pure alcohol made by heating fermented grain, used in medicine, as a solvent or fuel additive
2
3.0
The lines and patterns you see on the surface of wood that its long thin parts make
- Specialized
1
6.1
A tall plant grown for small edible seeds used for food or animal feed
A small moth whose larvae eat stored grains like wheat or corn and damage them
- Specialized
A unit of weight that equals 50 milligrams or 1/4 carat used for pearls and diamonds
- Specialized
A machine that removes dirt and small stones from grain before storage or sale
A small plant from northwestern North America with green and purple bell-shaped flowers
- Specialized
A hard red wheat grown in Russia and Germany used mostly to feed farm animals
How Much
Surface Forms
Etymology
Grain came to mean a very small amount because a 'seed' is tiny, so a grain of kindness or a grain of truth is just a small bit. This links the old idea of a seed to the modern idea of a tiny amount.