# grain

/ˈɡɹeɪn/ (US) · /ɡɹˈeɪn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/grain
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. food seeds

noun · CEFR B1

the small, hard seeds of food plants like wheat, rice, or corn.

For teachers: the harvested seeds of various cereal grasses or food crops, such as wheat, maize, or barley, considered collectively.

- The farmers stored the grain in large buildings to keep it dry for winter.
- Global markets fluctuated wildly as reports emerged of a significant decrease in the annual grain harvest due to the prolonged drought.

### 2. a tiny particle

noun · CEFR B1

a single, very small piece of a substance like sand, salt, or sugar.

For teachers: a single small, hard particle of a substance; the smallest unit of a bulk material.

- I think I have a grain of sand in my eye from the beach.
- The forensic team examined every grain of dust found at the scene, hoping to find a link to the suspect's warehouse.

### 3. wood/leather texture

noun · CEFR B2

the natural lines and patterns you see in wood or leather.

For teachers: the longitudinal arrangement or pattern of fibres in wood, or the texture of the hair side of leather.

- He sanded the table carefully, always moving the paper with the grain of the wood.
- The carpenter explained that cutting against the grain would likely cause the timber to splinter and ruin the finish.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'against the grain' to describe something that feels unnatural.

### 4. photography texture

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the tiny dots or 'noise' that make a photo look slightly fuzzy or textured.

For teachers: the granular appearance of a processed photographic image resulting from the presence of small particles of metallic silver.

- The old black-and-white photo had a lot of grain, which made it look very artistic.
- High-speed films typically exhibit more prominent grain, a characteristic often sought by photographers for its gritty, atmospheric quality.

### 5. unit of weight

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Technical

a very small unit of weight used for things like medicine or gold.

For teachers: a minute unit of mass in the troy system, originally based on the weight of a single grain of barley.

- The old recipe called for a few grains of a rare spice.
- In the apothecaries' system, the grain served as the foundational unit of weight for measuring potent medicinal powders.

### 6. to texture a surface

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to paint or treat a surface so it looks like it has a wood pattern.

For teachers: to paint or finish a surface in imitation of the natural grain of wood or another material.

- The decorator used a special tool to grain the metal door so it looked like oak.
- The restoration expert spent weeks graining the new panels to ensure they matched the original nineteenth-century woodwork.

## Examples

- The farmer harvests the grain in late summer.
- Whole grain bread is generally considered more nutritious than white bread because it contains more fiber.
- The forensic investigator found a single grain of red sand in the carpet, which eventually linked the suspect to the specific coastal region where the crime occurred.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.