a small, hard seed, especially the seed of a food plant such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, or millet.
the gathered seed of food plants, especially of cereal plants.
such plants collectively.
any small, hard particle, as of sand, gold, pepper, or gunpowder.
the smallest unit of weight in most systems, originally determined by the weight of a plump grain of wheat. In the U.S. and British systems, as in avoirdupois, troy, and apothecaries' weights, the grain is identical. In an avoirdupois ounce there are 437.5 grains; in the troy and apothecaries' ounces there are 480 grains (one grain equals 0.0648 gram).
the smallest possible amount of anything: a grain of truth.
the arrangement or direction of fibers in wood, or the pattern resulting from this.
the direction in which the fibers of a piece of dressed wood, as a board, rise to the surface: You should work with or across the grain, but never against.
the side of leather from which the hair has been removed.
a stamped pattern that imitates the natural grain of leather: used either on leather to simulate a different type of natural leather, or on coated cloth.
Textiles.
the fibers or yarn in a piece of fabric as differentiated from the fabric itself.
the direction of threads in a woven fabric in relation to the selvage.
the lamination or cleavage of stone, coal, etc.
Metallurgy. any of the individual crystalline particles forming a metal.
Jewelry. a unit of weight equal to 50 milligrams or ¼ carat, used for pearls and sometimes for diamonds.
the size of constituent particles of any substance; texture: sugar of fine grain.
a granular texture or appearance: a stone of coarse grain.
a state of crystallization: boiled to the grain.
temper or natural character: two brothers of similar grain.
Rocketry. a unit of solid propellant.
Obsolete. color or hue.
verb (used with object)
to form into grains; granulate.
to give a granular appearance to.
to paint in imitation of the grain of wood, stone, etc.: metal doors grained to resemble oak.
to feed grain to (an animal).
Tanning.
to remove the hair from (skins).
to soften and raise the grain of (leather).
Idioms for grain
against the / one's grain, in opposition to one's temper, inclination, or character: Haggling always went against her grain.
with a grain of salt. salt1 (def. 24).
Origin of grain
1250–1300; Middle English grain, grein<Old French grain<Latin grānum seed, grain; see corn1
This vast country with enormous agricultural resources having to turn to its archenemy for grain.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 6, 2020|Freakonomics
A mid-June survey from Meijer’s campaign found him ahead of Afendoulis by 24 points, 41 percent to 17 percent, although we should take internal polls with a grain of salt.
What You Need To Know About Today’s Elections In Kansas, Michigan And Missouri|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 4, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Scary radiation effects seen in lab animals or cell cultures should be taken with a grain of salt.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?|Maria Temming|July 15, 2020|Science News
County officials told NBC 7 San Diego to take the increases with a grain of salt.
Morning Report: MTS Says Its Officers Are Exempt from State Law|Voice of San Diego|June 26, 2020|Voice of San Diego
This allowed the vehicle to trundle up hills of loose grains.
Wiggly wheels might help rovers plow through loose lunar soils|Maria Temming|June 26, 2020|Science News For Students
Stalin, now one of the top men in the party, was sent there by Lenin to ensure that grain was getting shipped to Moscow.
Against the Grain By Michael Specter, The New Yorker Should you go gluten-free?
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Oct 27-Nov 2, 2014|William Boot|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With this tool, Death is illustrated in many a 15th-century woodcut mowing down souls as if they were grain.
Ebola Rages in West Africa, Reigniting Humanity’s Oldest Fear: The Plague|Scott Bixby|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Mostly vodka and grain alcohol, because that got you really drunk, really fast,” he says.
Jim Norton And His Many Vices|Lloyd Grove|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Decent ryes take anywhere from five to 10 years to age, and there's a shortage of grain producers.
Why Rye Is The Nation's Spirit, And Why No One Can Get It|Kayleigh Kulp|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But we would not leave this subject without a grain of caution.
The Peanut Plant|B. W. Jones
He was perpetually picking the grain of corn out of the bushel of chaff.
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16|Various
I would sell my grain and return with about as much material as I could carry under my arm.
Forty Years Among the Indians|Daniel W. Jones
Just fancy, I saw rats and ran about on all fours to put a grain of salt under their tails.
L'Assommoir|Emile Zola
These flocks do much damage to the grain, and hence are known as Jowaree and Cholum birds.
Indian Birds|Douglas Dewar
British Dictionary definitions for grain
grain
/ (ɡreɪn) /
noun
the small hard seedlike fruit of a grass, esp a cereal plant
a mass of such fruits, esp when gathered for food
the plants, collectively, from which such fruits are harvested
a small hard particlea grain of sand
the general direction or arrangement of the fibrous elements in paper or woodto saw across the grain
the pattern or texture of wood resulting from such an arrangementthe attractive grain of the table
the relative size of the particles of a substancesugar of fine grain
the granular texture of a rock, mineral, etc
the appearance of a rock, mineral, etc, determined by the size and arrangement of its constituents
the outer (hair-side) layer of a hide or skin from which the hair or wool has been removed
the pattern on the outer surface of such a hide or skin
a surface artificially imitating the grain of wood, leather, stone, etc; graining
the smallest unit of weight in the avoirdupois, Troy, and apothecaries' systems, based on the average weight of a grain of wheat: in the avoirdupois system it equals 1/7000 of a pound, and in the Troy and apothecaries' systems it equals 1/5760 of a pound. 1 grain is equal to 0.0648 gramAbbreviation: gr
Also called: metric graina metric unit of weight used for pearls or diamonds, equal to 50 milligrams or one quarter of a carat
the threads or direction of threads in a woven fabric
photogany of a large number of particles in a photographic emulsion, the size of which limit the extent to which an image can be enlarged without serious loss of definition
televisiona granular effect in a television picture caused by electrical noise
cleavage lines in crystalline material, parallel to growth planes
chemany of a large number of small crystals forming a polycrystalline solid, each having a regular array of atoms that differs in orientation from that of the surrounding crystallites
a state of crystallizationto boil syrup to the grain
a very small amounta grain of truth
natural disposition, inclination, or character (esp in the phrase go against the grain)
astronauticsa homogenous mass of solid propellant in a form designed to give the required combustion characteristics for a particular rocket
(not in technical usage)kermes or a red dye made from this insect
dyeing an obsolete word for colour
with a grain of saltorwith a pinch of saltwithout wholly believing: sceptically
verb(mainly tr)
(also intr)to form grains or cause to form into grains; granulate; crystallize
to give a granular or roughened appearance or texture to
to paint, stain, etc, in imitation of the grain of wood or leather
to remove the hair or wool from (a hide or skin) before tanning