- [uncountable, countable] the small hard seeds of food plants such as wheat, rice, etc.; a single seed of such a plant
- Brazil sold 212 million tons of grain abroad last year.
- America’s grain exports
- The journal reports that eating whole grains protects against diabetes.
- grain of something a few grains of rice
Extra ExamplesTopics Farmingb1, Foodb1- Grain production has been falling in recent years.
- There were just a few grains of corn left.
- The government intends to import only five per cent of the country's grain.
- The peasants had ceased to sow grain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- large
- small
- whole
- …
- grow
- produce
- store
- …
- harvest
- production
- yield
- …
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- [countable] grain (of something) a small hard piece of particular substances
- a grain of salt/sand/sugar
- I got a grain of sand in my eye.
- [countable] (used especially in negative sentences) a very small amount synonym iota
- There isn't a grain of truth in those rumours.
- If he had a grain of sensitivity he wouldn't have asked her about her divorce.
- [countable] a small unit of weight, equal to 0.00143 of a pound or 0.0648 of a gram, used for example for weighing medicines
- The analysis showed a few grains of arsenic in the solution.
- [uncountable, singular] the natural direction of lines in wood, cloth, etc. or of layers of rock; the pattern of lines that you can see
- along/across the grain to cut a piece of wood along/across the grain
- This wood has a beautiful natural grain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fine
- smooth
- coarse
- …
- across the grain
- against the grain
- along the grain
- …
- [uncountable, countable] how rough or smooth a surface feels
- wood of coarse/fine grain
Word OriginMiddle English (originally in the sense ‘seed, grain of corn’): from Old French grain, from Latin granum.
Idioms
See grain in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee grain in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe/go against the grain
- to be or do something different from what is normal or natural
- It really goes against the grain to have to work on a Sunday.
take something with a grain of salt (North American English)
(also take something with a pinch of salt British and North American English)
- used to warn somebody not to believe something completely
- If I were you, I'd take everything he says with a grain of salt.
Check pronunciation:
grain