grain
noun
\ ˈgrān
\
\
Definition of grain
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1)
obsolete
: a single small hard seed
(2)
: a seed or fruit of a cereal grass : caryopsis
b
: the seeds or fruits of various food plants including the cereal grasses and in commercial and statutory usage other plants (such as the soybean)
c
: plants producing grain
2a(1)
: a small hard particle or crystal
(2)
: any of the particles produced in a photographic material by its development
also
: the size of such grains in the aggregate
(3)
: an individual crystal in a metal
b
: a minute portion or particle
c
: the least amount possible
a grain of truth
3a
: kermes or a scarlet dye made from it
b
: cochineal or a brilliant scarlet dye made from it
c
: a fast dye
4a
: a granulated surface or appearance
b
: the outer or hair side of a skin or hide
5
: a unit of weight based on the weight of a grain of wheat taken as an average of the weight of grains from the middle of the ear — see Weights and Measures Table
6a
: the stratification of the wood fibers in a piece of wood
b
: a texture due to constituent particles or fibers
the grain of a rock
c
: the direction of threads in cloth
7
: tactile quality
8a
: natural disposition : temper
lying goes against my grain
b
: a basic or characteristic quality
c
: a prevalent ideology or convention
teaching against the grain
grain
verb
grained;
graining;
grains
Definition of grain (Entry 2 of 2)
: to become granular : granulate
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Other Words from grain
Noun
grained
\ ˈgrānd
\
adjective
\
adjective
grainless
adjective
Verb
grainer
noun
Synonyms for grain
Synonyms: Noun
atom, bit, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, nugget, particle, patch, scrap, scruple, snip, snippet, speck, tittle
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Examples of grain in a Sentence
Noun
bread made from whole wheat grain The machine grinds grain into flour. The farm grows a variety of grains. Anyone with a grain of sense knows that she's lying. There is not a grain of truth in what he said.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Alex Rowland, owner of Superior Culture, got his start at the market and has earned a reputation for his small-batch kombucha brewed with local grains, honey and seasonal fruit, like gooseberries from Blueberry Knoll Farm. — Layla Khoury-hanold, chicagotribune.com, "Fresh Marquette: Outdoor sports haven in Michigan’s U.P. serves up booming culinary scene," 28 Aug. 2019 Similarly, although these drinks are made from grains, most are gluten-free — like, aggressively gluten-free. — Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, "Hard seltzer is this summer’s biggest scam," 20 Aug. 2019 But the most popular option is building your own salad, which sounds like an intimidating process — there are dozens of vegetables, grains, fruits, cheese, nuts and seeds to choose from — but it’s broken down into three steps. — Daily Pilot, "On Food: Fork & Salad brings the ohana spirit of healthy eating to Orange," 8 Aug. 2019 Built in1910, the historic mill has long been the spot to stop for a bag of grain, a cup of coffee and the latest news. — Stacey Mckenna, The Know, "10 bars, restaurants and art spaces that give new life to historic buildings," 8 Aug. 2019 Right now, these Kodiak Cakes Bear Bites are my favorite nostalgia-inducing snack that still check off the I’m-a-functioning-adult boxes: whole grains, non-GMO ingredients, and a considerable amount of protein. — Sunset Staff, Sunset Magazine, "Pull This Pork, Dip That Chip, and 5 More Things to See & Do This Week," 29 July 2019 Cellulose is the threadlike component in grains, greens and other vegetables or fruits. — Scientific American, "Put Edible Paper to the Test," 18 July 2019 The cover crop can be a winter-hardy grain, a legume or a combination of the two. — oregonlive.com, "Pull unsightly weeds as they pop or desired garden plants will suffer," 13 July 2019 Yields of sorghum, which many people in the developing world use as a food grain, have increased by 0.7% in sub-Saharan Africa and 0.9% yearly in western, southern and southeastern Asia due to climate shifts since the 1970s. — Deepak Ray, The Conversation, "Climate change is affecting crop yields and reducing global food supplies," 9 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The surface appears to be very, very fine-grained. . . . — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, "East Eighty-eighth Street and East End Avenue," 25 May 2018 Within 15 minutes, a portion of this radioactive dust — mostly grains the size of salt or sand — would begin to fall directly on the city. — Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018 The raw flesh of the fish is opalescent, fine-grained and smooth and nearly translucent, with a flavor to match. — Ben Lowy, Smithsonian, "The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back," 23 May 2018 As in other full-size pickups at this price, the dashboard is largely made up of hard plastics, although their graining looks nice and most critical touch points inside the F-150 are made from softer materials. — Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, "2018 Ford F-150 2.7L EcoBoost V-6 4x2 SuperCrew," 9 Mar. 2018 Very few interior panels are soft to the touch, but the vast expanses of hard plastic are nicely grained and don’t feel cheap. — Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, "2018 Hyundai Accent," 24 Jan. 2018 The official data were not fine-grained enough to reveal such patterns. — The Economist, "Punk scienceDo-it-yourself Science is taking off," 16 Dec. 2017 Because there were, on average, 20 routers in each station in the pilot, London’s data are quite fine-grained.