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grinding

grinding

7 4.2
A harsh scraping sound made when hard surfaces rub together
  • noun
  • /ˈɡraɪndɪŋ/
translation icon : ruido de rozamiento
  • A bad wheel bearing will also cause grinding and could cause shaking in the front end.
  • a grinding noise
  • a grinding sound
  • teeth grinding

Great, but they would still be an even from all of the grinding of the teeth.

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Examples

  • Sometimes the wind carries the sound of their grinding engines.

    Academic text (2007)
  • I turned up the radio when the gear grinding got bad.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • And all of it came to a grinding horrible end as a result of the Great Depression.

  • The grinding of the wheels is heard as the train moves into the subway tunnel.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Louise was relieved when the diamond-tipped drill finally shut off; the grinding sound had given her a headache.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The row of lights was still flashing yellow when the grinding of gears filled the car where we sat in stunned silence.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Everything dropped suddenly; there was an audible, cabin-wide gasp as the plane pitched and a grinding rattle started.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The grinding sound of the metal against the concrete made it hard to concentrate.

  • As the car approached, the grinding of its brakes echoed through the empty street.

  • She winced at the sharp grinding noise that came from the pencil sharpener.

Synonyms

scratching
vsgrinding
33 2.1

A harsh scraping sound when two hard or rough things rub together

is heavier and more sustained coming from hard surfaces under strong friction
scratch
vsgrinding
20 1.2

A harsh scraping sound, for example from branches or a pen

is typically louder and produced by solid surfaces rubbing strongly together
scrape
vsgrinding
9 3.2

A harsh, rough sound made when one thing rubs another

is louder and more continuous caused by hard surfaces rubbing together
scraping
vsgrinding
5 2.3

A harsh sound made when one thing rubs another

is heavier and continuous from hard surfaces rubbing together

Antonyms

660 2.0

A period with no sound or speech

Compounds

grinding wheel
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A round wheel of rough material that you use to sharpen or shape metal

How Harsh

screech
39 2.9
grinding
7 4.2
scrape
9 3.2
squeak
22 1.9

Surface Forms

grinding singular
grindings plural

Morphology

grinding = grind (transparent) = grind + ing

The noun refers to the sound produced by the action 'to grind' and is a regular nominalization using '-ing'.

Etymology

Grinding comes from an old English word grindan meaning 'to rub' or 'to crush'. So a 'grinding' sound is the harsh noise of hard parts rubbing or scraping together.