GRIT

backbone, grit, guts, moxie, sand, gumption

(noun) fortitude and determination; “he didn’t have the guts to try it”

grit, gritrock, gritstone

(noun) a hard coarse-grained siliceous sandstone

grit

(verb) clench together; “grit one’s teeth”

grit

(verb) cover with a grit; “grit roads”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

grit (uncountable)

A collection of hard small materials, such as dirt, ground stone, debris from sandblasting or other such grinding, or swarf from metalworking.

Sand or a sand–salt mixture spread on wet and, especially, icy roads and footpaths to improve traction.

Inedible particles in food.

A measure of the relative coarseness of an abrasive material such as sandpaper, the smaller the number the coarser the abrasive.

(geology) A hard, coarse-grained siliceous sandstone; gritstone. Also, a finer sharp-grained sandstone, e.g, grindstone grit.

Strength of mind; great courage or fearlessness; fortitude.

Verb

grit (third-person singular simple present grits, present participle gritting, simple past and past participle (nonstandard) grit or gritted)

Apparently only in grit one's teeth: to clench, particularly in reaction to pain or anger.

To cover with grit.

(obsolete, intransitive) To give forth a grating sound, like sand under the feet; to grate; to grind.

Etymology 2

Noun

grit (plural grits)

(usually, in the plural) Husked but unground oats.

(usually, in the plural) Coarsely ground corn or hominy used as porridge.

Anagrams

• girt, trig

Etymology

Canadian. From the Clear Grits.

Noun

Grit (plural Grits)

(Canada, politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada or one of its provincial wings (except for the Quebec provincial wing).

Adjective

Grit (not comparable)

(Canada, politics) Of or belonging to the Liberal Party of Canada.

Anagrams

• girt, trig

Source: Wiktionary

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

1. Sand or gravel; rough, hard particles.

2. The coarse part of meal.

3. pl.

Definition: Grain, esp. oats or wheat, hulled and coarsely ground; in high milling, fragments of cracked wheat smaller than groats.

4. (Geol.)

Definition: 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.

5. Structure, as adapted to grind or sharpen; as, a hone of good grit.

6. Firmness of mind; invincible spirit; unyielding courage; fortitude. C. Reade. E. P. Whipple.

Grit, v. i.

Definition: To give forth a grating sound, as sand under the feet; to grate; to grind. The sanded floor that grits beneath the tread. Goldsmith.

Grit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gritted; p. pr. &, vb. n. Gritting.]

Definition: To grind; to rub harshly together; to grate; as, to grit the teeth. [Collog.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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