grit

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

grit, n. [OE, greet, greot, sand, gravel, AS. greót grit, sant, dust; akin to OS griott, OFries. gret gravel, OHG. grioz, G. griess, Icel. grjōt, and to E. groats, grout. See Groats, Grout, and cf. Grail gravel.].

•  Sand or gravel; rough, hard particles.  [1913 Webster]
•  The coarse part of meal.  [1913 Webster]
•  Grain, esp. oats or wheat, hulled and coarsely ground; in high milling, fragments of cracked wheat smaller than groats.  [1913 Webster]
•  A hard, coarse-grained siliceous sandstone; as, millstone grit; -- called also gritrock and gritstone. The name is also applied to a finer sharp-grained sandstone; as, grindstone grit.  [1913 Webster]
•  Structure, as adapted to grind or sharpen; as, a hone of good grit.  [1913 Webster]
•  Firmness of mind; invincible spirit; unyielding courage; fortitude.  C. Reade. E. P. Whipple.  [1913 Webster]

grit, v. i. 

 To give forth a grating sound, as sand under the feet; to grate; to grind.  [1913 Webster]
"The sanded floor that grits beneath the tread."  [1913 Webster]

grit, v. t. 

 To grind; to rub harshly together; to grate; as, to grit the teeth.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

grit, n. & v.
--n.
1 particles of stone or sand, esp. as causing discomfort, clogging machinery, etc.
2 coarse sandstone.
3 colloq. pluck, endurance; strength of character.
--v. (gritted, gritting)
1 tr. spread grit on (icy roads etc.).
2 tr. clench (the teeth).
3 intr. make or move with a grating sound.

Derivative

gritter n. gritty adj. (grittier, grittiest). grittily adv. grittiness n.

Etymology

OE greot f. Gmc: cf. GRITS, GROATS

THESAURUS

grit

air pollution, attritus, backbone, bottle, bottom, bran, bravery, breccia, chafe, chutzpah, cosmic dust, courage, courageousness, crumb, crumble, dauntlessness, debris, determination, detritus, doughtiness, dust, dust ball, efflorescence, exacerbate, fallout, farina, fearlessness, filings, firmness, flour, fortitude, fret, gall, gameness, grain, granule, granulet, grate, grate on, gravel, grits, groats, guts, gutsiness, guttiness, hardihood, hardiness, heart, heart of oak, intestinal fortitude, intrepidity, intrepidness, irritate, kittens, lint, meal, mettle, mettlesomeness, moxie, nerve, pith, pluck, pluckiness, powder, provoke, pussies, rasp, raspings, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, sand, sawdust, set on edge, shingle, smut, soot, spirit, spunk, spunkiness, stalwartness, stamina, starch, staunchness, stout heart, tenacity, toughness, true grit, valor

ROGET THESAURUS

grit

Resolution

N resolution, determination, will, iron will, unconquerable will, will of one's own, decision, resolution, backbone, clear grit, true grit, grit, sand, strength of mind, strength of will, resolve, firmness, energy, manliness, vigor, game, pluck, resoluteness, zeal, aplomb, desperation, devotion, devotedness, mastery over self, self control, self command, self possession, self reliance, self government, self restraint, self conquest, self denial, moral courage, moral strength, perseverance, tenacity, obstinacy, bulldog, British lion, resolved, determined, strong-willed, strong-minded, resolute, self-possessed, decided, definitive, peremptory, tranchant, unhesitating, unflinching, unshrinking, firm, iron, gritty, indomitable, game to the backbone, inexorable, relentless, not to be shaken, not to be put down, tenax propositi, inflexible, obstinate, steady, earnest, serious, set upon, bent upon, intent upon, steel against, proof against, in utrumque paratus, resolutely, in earnest, in good earnest, seriously, joking apart, earnestly, heart and soul, on one's mettle, manfully, like a man, with a high hand, with a strong hand, at any rate, at any risk, at any hazard, at any price, at any cost, at any sacrifice, at all hazards, at all risks, at all events, a' bis ou a blanc, cost what it may, coute, a tort et a travers, once for all, neck or nothing, rain or shine, spes sibi quisque, celui qui veut celui-la peut, chi non s'arrischia non guadagna, frangas non flectes, manu forti, tentanda via est.

Perseverance

N perseverance, continuance, permanence, firmness, constancy, steadiness, singleness of purpose, tenacity of purpose, persistence, plodding, patience, sedulity, pertinacy, pertinacity, pertinaciousness, iteration, bottom, game, pluck, stamina, backbone, grit, indefatigability, indefatigableness, bulldog courage, persevering, constant, steady, steadfast, undeviating, unwavering, unfaltering, unswerving, unflinching, unsleeping, unflagging, undrooping, steady as time, unrelenting, unintermitting, unremitting, plodding, industrious, strenuous, pertinacious, persisting, persistent, solid, sturdy, staunch, stanch, true to oneself, unchangeable, unconquerable, indomitable, game to the last, indefatigable, untiring, unwearied, never tiring, through evil report and good report, through thick and thin, through fire and water, per fas et nefas, without fail, sink or swim, at any price, vogue la galere, never say die, give it the old college try, vestigia nulla retrorsum, aut vincer aut mori, la garde meurt et ne se rend pas, tout vient a temps pour qui sait attendre.

Uncleanness

N uncleanness, impurity, immundity, immundicity, impurity, defilement, contamination, defoedation, soilure, soiliness, abomination, leaven, taint, tainture, fetor, decay, putrescence, putrefaction, corruption, mold, must, mildew, dry rot, mucor, rubigo, slovenry, slovenliness, squalor, dowdy, drab, slut, malkin, slattern, sloven, slammerkin, slammock, slummock, scrub, draggle-tail, mudlark, dust-man, sweep, beast, dirt, filth, soil, slop, dust, cobweb, flue, smoke, soot, smudge, smut, grit, grime, raff, sossle, sozzle, sordes, dregs, grounds, lees, argol, sediment, settlement heeltap, dross, drossiness, mother, precipitate, scoriae, ashes, cinders, recrement, slag, scum, froth, hogwash, ditchwater, dishwater, bilgewater, rinsings, cheeseparings, sweepings, offscourings, outscourings, off scum, caput mortuum, residuum, sprue, fecula, clinker, draff, scurf, scurfiness, exuviae, morphea, fur, furfur, dandruff, tartar, riffraff, vermin, louse, flea, bug, chinch, mud, mire, quagmire, alluvium, silt, sludge, slime, slush, slosh, sposh, spawn, offal, gurry, lientery, garbage, carrion, excreta, slough, peccant humor, pus, matter, suppuration, lienteria, faeces, feces, excrement, ordure, dung, crap, shit, sewage, sewerage, muck, coprolite, guano, manure, compost, dunghill, colluvies, mixen, midden, bog, laystall, sink, privy, jakes, toilet, john, head, cess, cesspool, sump, sough, cloaca, latrines, drain, sewer, common sewer, Cloacina, dust hole, sty, pigsty, lair, den, Augean stable, sink of corruption, slum, rookery, dirty, filthy, grimy, unclean, impure, soiled, not to be handled with kid gloves, dusty, snuffy, smutty, sooty, smoky, thick, turbid, dreggy, slimy, mussy, slovenly, untidy, messy, uncleanly, unkempt, sluttish, dowdy, draggle-tailed, uncombed, unscoured, unswept, unwiped, unwashed, unstrained, unpurified, squalid, lutose, slammocky, slummocky, sozzly, nasty, coarse, foul, offensive, abominable, beastly, reeky, reechy, fetid, decayed, moldy, musty, mildewed, rusty, moth-eaten, mucid, rancid, weak, bad, gone bad, etercoral, lentiginous, touched, fusty, effete, reasty, rotten, corrupt, tainted, high, flyblown, maggoty, putrid, putrefactive, putrescent, putrefied, saprogenic, saprogenous, purulent, carious, peccant, fecal, feculent, stercoraceous, excrementitious, scurfy, scurvy, impetiginous, gory, bloody, rotting, rotten as a pear, rotten as cheese, crapulous, gross, fimetarious, fimicolous, they that touch pitch will be defiled.

Strength

N strength, power, energy, vigor, force, main force, physical force, brute force, spring, elasticity, tone, tension, tonicity, stoutness, lustihood, stamina, nerve, muscle, sinew, thews and sinews, physique, pith, pithiness, virtility, vitality, athletics, athleticism, gymnastics, feats of strength, adamant, steel, iron, oak, heart of oak, iron grip, grit, bone, athlete, gymnast, acrobat, superman, Atlas, Hercules, Antaeus, Samson, Cyclops, Goliath, tower of strength, giant refreshed, strengthening, invigoration, refreshment, refocillation, dynamics, statics, strong, mighty, vigorous, forcible, hard, adamantine, stout, robust, sturdy, hardy, powerful, potent, puissant, valid, resistless, irresistible, invincible, proof against, impregnable, unconquerable, indomitable, dominating, inextinguishable, unquenchable, incontestable, more than a match for, overpowering, overwhelming, all powerful, all sufficient, sovereign, able-bodied, athletic, Herculean, Cyclopean, Atlantean, muscular, brawny, wiry, well-knit, broad-shouldered, sinewy, strapping, stalwart, gigantic, manly, man-like, manful, masculine, male, virile, unweakened, unallayed, unwithered, unshaken, unworn, unexhausted, in full force, in full swing, in the plenitude of power, stubborn, thick-ribbed, made of iron, deep-rooted, strong as a lion, strong as a horse, strong as an ox, strong as brandy, sound as a roach, in fine feather, in high feather, built like a brick shithouse, like a giant refreshed, strongly, by force, by main force, our withers are unwrung, Blut und Eisen, coelitus mihi vires, du fort au diable, en habiles gens, ex vi termini, flecti non frangi, he that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves an, inflexible in faith invincible in arms.

Pulverulence

N powderiness, pulverulence, sandiness, efflorescence, friability, powder, dust, sand, shingle, sawdust, grit, meal, bran, flour, farina, rice, paddy, spore, sporule, crumb, seed, grain, particle, limature, filings, debris, detritus, tailings, talus slope, scobs, magistery, fine powder, flocculi, smoke, cloud of dust, cloud of sand, cloud of smoke, puff of smoke, volume of smoke, sand storm, dust storm, pulverization, comminution, attenuation, granulation, disintegration, subaction, contusion, trituration, levigation, abrasion, detrition, multure, limitation, tripsis, filing, mill, arrastra, gristmill, grater, rasp, file, mortar and pestle, nutmeg grater, teeth, grinder, grindstone, kern, quern, koniology, powdery, pulverulent, granular, mealy, floury, farinaceous, branny, furfuraceous, flocculent, dusty, sandy, sabulous, psammous, arenose, arenarious, arenaceous, gritty, efflorescent, impalpable, lentiginous, lepidote, sabuline, sporaceous, sporous, pulverizable, friable, crumbly, shivery, pulverized, attrite, in pieces.