grind down
phrasal verb
ground down; grinding down; grinds down
1
: to make (something hard) smaller and smoother by gradually rubbing off tiny bits
The old dog's teeth had been ground down by use.
2
: to weaken or destroy (someone or something) gradually
Poverty ground her spirit down.
These people have been ground down by years of oppression.
Examples of grind down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The idea ― which has been proven to be very successful ― is to prevent a plaintiff from using the heavy monetary and emotional expense of litigation to grind down a defendant, even if the plaintiff's lawsuit is ultimately shown to be meritless.
—
Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Years of running and walking take the spring out of our step, and alongside childbearing, grind down the joints in the pelvis and spine.
—Bethany Brookshire, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2025
Younger rocks, from when Snowball Earth was thawing, had a narrower range of mineral ages, and more fragile grains were absent, suggesting flowing water had dissolved material that was previously ground down.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
So the Russians were able to gradually grind down the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and ultimately force its few surviving troops to retreat from Vuhledar in late September.
—David Axe, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grind down
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Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Years of running and walking take the spring out of our step, and alongside childbearing, grind down the joints in the pelvis and spine.
—Bethany Brookshire, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2025
Younger rocks, from when Snowball Earth was thawing, had a narrower range of mineral ages, and more fragile grains were absent, suggesting flowing water had dissolved material that was previously ground down.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
So the Russians were able to gradually grind down the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and ultimately force its few surviving troops to retreat from Vuhledar in late September.
—David Axe, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grind down
Cite this Entry
“Grind down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grind%20down. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.
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