Definition

Noun: The solid, granular residue left in a filter or at the bottom of a pot after brewing coffee. They consist of the used coffee beans that have been ground and had their flavor and caffeine extracted by hot water.

Usage

This term is used exclusively as a plural noun to refer to the spent coffee material. It is typically used in contexts related to cleaning, disposal, gardening, or DIY projects.

Examples

• After making a pot of coffee, she emptied the coffee grounds from the filter into the compost bin.
• Don't pour coffee grounds down the sink drain, as they can cause clogs.
• Many gardeners use coffee grounds to enrich their soil.

Advanced Usage

• "Used coffee grounds": A more specific phrase emphasizing that the grounds are spent, distinguishing them from fresh, unbrewed ground coffee.
  • Save your used coffee grounds for our gardening project.
• The term can be used metaphorically to describe something that is exhausted or has yielded all its value, though this is less common.
  • After the long negotiation, the proposal was nothing but coffee grounds—all the good ideas had been extracted.

Variants and Related Words

• Ground coffee (noun): Fresh coffee beans that have been ground but not yet brewed. This is the starting material, not the residue.
  • I need to buy more ground coffee for the morning.
• Dregs (noun, plural): The remnants of a liquid, often containing solid particles. This is a more general synonym.
  • He drank the tea down to the dregs.

Synonyms

• Sediment (noun): Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
• Lees (noun, plural): The sediment of wine or other liquors.
• Residue (noun): A small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken.

Related Phrases

• To dispose of coffee grounds: The common action associated with them.
  • What is the best way to dispose of coffee grounds?
• Coffee grounds for compost/garden: A frequent use case.
  • This article lists five uses for coffee grounds in the garden.

Noun

1. the dregs remaining after brewing coffee