Definition

1. Noun:

   • A small, hard particle of a substance: A single, tiny piece of a material like sand, salt, or sugar.
   • The seeds of cultivated cereal grasses used for food: The small, hard fruits of plants such as wheat, rice, or corn, especially as a collective mass or crop.
   • The arrangement, direction, or texture of fibers, layers, or particles in materials like wood, leather, or stone: The visible pattern resulting from the natural structure of a material.
   • A very small amount of something: The smallest possible quantity or degree of a non-material thing, like truth or sense.
   • A unit of weight: A very small unit of mass, equal to approximately 64.8 milligrams, used historically for precious materials.
   • The fundamental nature or character of a person or thing: The inherent quality or tendency.

2. Verb:

   • To form into grains or particles: To become or cause to become granular in texture.
   • To paint or finish a surface to imitate the grain of wood or stone: To apply a pattern that resembles a natural texture.
   • To work something thoroughly into a surface: To rub a substance into something so it penetrates the texture.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He brushed a grain of sand from the camera lens. (A single tiny particle)
  • The country exports millions of tons of grain every year. (Cereal seeds as a crop)
  • You should always sand wood in the direction of the grain. (The direction of the wood fibers)
  • There wasn't a grain of evidence to support the claim. (A tiny amount of something abstract)
  • The jeweler measured the gold dust in units of grain. (A unit of weight)

• Verb:

  • The sugar began to grain in the humid jar. (Formed into crystals/particles)
  • The cabinet was expertly grained to look like oak. (Painted to imitate wood texture)
  • Dirt was grained into the knees of his old trousers. (Worked thoroughly into the fabric)

Advanced Usage

• "Against the grain": Contrary to one's natural inclination, desire, or the natural direction of something.
  • His decision to quit a stable job and travel went against the grain of his family's expectations.
• "With the grain": In accordance with the natural direction, tendency, or inclination.
  • Sanding with the grain of the wood produces a smoother finish.
• "A grain of truth": A very small amount of truth within a larger statement that may be false or exaggerated.
  • Even in the wildest rumors, you can often find a grain of truth.

Variants and Related Words

• Grained (adj): Having a specified type of grain or texture (e.g., , ).
• Grainy (adj): Resembling or full of grains; having a rough, granular texture; also used to describe a low-resolution, pixelated image.
  • The old photograph was grainy but precious.
• Granular (adj): Consisting of or resembling grains or granules.

Synonyms

• Noun (particle): Speck, granule, bit.
• Noun (cereal): Cereal, kernel, seed.
• Noun (texture): Texture, fiber, pattern.
• Noun (small amount): Iota, jot, scintilla, trace.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• Grain against (something): This is not a standard phrasal verb. The idiomatic expressions "go against the grain" and "with the grain" are fixed phrases, not phrasal verbs with separable particles.

Related Idioms

• Dyed in the grain / In grain: Thoroughly, completely, or in one's very nature. (From the process of dyeing raw wool, resulting in a fast color).
  • He is honest in grain; you can trust him completely.
• Take something with a grain of salt: To be skeptical about something; to not completely believe what you are told.
  • Take his stories about his athletic prowess with a grain of salt; he tends to exaggerate.

Noun

1. the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance)
   • breadfruit has the same texture as bread
   • sand of a fine grain
   • fish with a delicate flavor and texture
   • a stone of coarse grain
2. the direction, texture, or pattern of fibers found in wood or leather or stone or in a woven fabric
   • saw the board across the grain
3. the smallest possible unit of anything
   • there was a grain of truth in what he said
   • he does not have a grain of sense
4. a cereal grass
   • wheat is a grain that is grown in Kansas
5. dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian corn
6. 1/7000 pound; equals a troy grain or 64.799 milligrams
7. 1/60 dram; equals an avoirdupois grain or 64.799 milligrams
8. a weight unit used for pearls or diamonds: 50 mg or 1/4 carat
9. the side of leather from which the hair has been removed
10. foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses
11. a relatively small granular particle of a substance
    • a grain of sand
    • a grain of sugar

Verb

1. become granular
2. form into grains
3. paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood
4. thoroughly work in
   • His hands were grained with dirt