grind down

phrasal verb

ground down; grinding down; grinds down

: to make (something hard) smaller and smoother by gradually rubbing off tiny bits

The old dog's teeth had been ground down by use.

: 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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

His teeth were ground down to stubs and constantly breaking. —

Maria Sokolina, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 Mars is grinding down to a halt in your sixth house of work and projects, and Mercury spends the first half of the month completing its retrograde through your tenth house of career and public roles. —

Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Nov. 2024 The Bobcats ground down then-No. 10 Masuk last Friday, 28-14, using their run game to play keep away. —

Ned Griffen, Hartford Courant, 18 Nov. 2024 The point of Western sanctions has been to grind down the Russian war effort, to starve it of capital and technology and thereby give Ukraine a long-term structural advantage in the war. —

Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grind down