grain

Meanings

Plural: grains

Noun

• a relatively small granular particle of a substance
  • "a grain of sand"
  • "a grain of sugar"
• foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses
• the side of leather from which the hair has been removed
• a weight unit used for pearls or diamonds: 50 mg or 1/4 carat
• 1/60 dram; equals an avoirdupois grain or 64.799 milligrams
• 1/7000 pound; equals a troy grain or 64.799 milligrams
• dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian corn
• a cereal grass
  • "wheat is a grain that is grown in Kansas"
• the smallest possible unit of anything
  • "there was a grain of truth in what he said"
  • "he does not have a grain of sense"
• 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"
• the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance)
  • "sand of a fine grain"
  • "a stone of coarse grain"
• The harvested seeds of various grass food crops eg: wheat, corn, barley.
• Similar seeds from any food crop, e.g., buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa.
• A single seed of grass food crops.
• The crops from which grain is harvested.
• A linear texture of a material or surface.
• A single particle of a substance.
• Any of various small units of mass originally notionally based on grain's weight, variously standardized at different places and times, including
• The English grain of ¹⁄₅₇₆₀ troy pound or ¹⁄₇₀₀₀ pound avoirdupois, now exactly 64.79891 mg.
• Any of various small units of mass originally notionally based on grain's weight, variously standardized at different places and times, including
• The metric, carat, or pearl grain of ¹⁄₄ carat used for measuring precious stones and pearls, now exactly 50 mg.
• Any of various small units of mass originally notionally based on grain's weight, variously standardized at different places and times, including
• The French grain of ¹⁄₉₂₁₆ livre, equivalent to 53.11 mg at metricization and equal to exactly 54.25 mg from 1812–1839 as part of the mesures usuelles.
• Any of various small units of length originally notionally based on a grain's width, variously standardized at different places and times.
• The carat grain of ¹⁄₄ carat as a measure of gold purity, creating a 96-point scale between 0% and 100% purity.
• A region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction.
• The solid piece of fuel in an individual solid-fuel rocket engine.
• A reddish dye made from the coccus insect, or kermes; hence, a red color of any tint or hue, as crimson, scarlet, etc.; sometimes used by the poets as equivalent to Tyrian purple.
• The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on that side.
• The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum.
• A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock.
• Temper; natural disposition; inclination.
• Visual texture in processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons.
• A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant; an offshoot.
• A tine, prong, or fork.
• One of the branches of a valley or river.
• A tine, prong, or fork.
• An iron fish spear or harpoon, with a number of points half-barbed inwardly.
• A tine, prong, or fork.
• A blade of a sword, knife, etc.
• A tine, prong, or fork.
• An arm of a cross.
• A thin piece of metal, used in a mould to steady a core.
• A branch or arm of a stream, inlet, or sea.
• A fork in a river valley or ravine.
• The branch of a family; clan.
• The groin; crotch.
• The fangs of a tooth.

Verb

• thoroughly work in
  • "His hands were grained with dirt"
• paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood
• form into grains
• become granular
• To feed grain to.
• To make granular; to form into grains.
• To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization; to granulate.
• To texture a surface in imitation of the grain of a substance such as wood.
• To remove the hair or fat from a skin.
• To soften leather.
• To yield fruit.

Synonyms

caryopsis, cereal, draff, food grain, grain, granulate, ingrain, metric grain, texture, troy grain

Related Words

cereal, coarse-grained, combine, field, fine-grained, garnet, grain alcohol, grain car, grain neutral spirit, grain spirit, grains of paradise, granary, granular, granularity, granulate, granulation, grenade, grosgrain, guinea grains, mill, neutral grain spirit, scythe