Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

grind one's gears

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.43 in modern English

Syllables
grind one's gears
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To annoy or irritate one.

Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

As an analogy to a state in a multispeed internal combustion engine in which improperly synchronized inputs and outputs in the transmission during a gear shift (as by driver error or a mechanical fault) lead to literal grinding of gears against each other as they're forced to mesh at different speeds from one another. The noise produced is harsh and grating, and damage to the transmission can accumulate with repeated occurrences.

Usage

Inflected Forms

grinds one's gears (present, singular) grinding one's gears (participle, present) ground one's gears (participle, past) ground one's gears (past)

Synonyms

chap someone's hide get someone's goat aggravate annoy nettle rankle ruffle sting burn someone's ass antagonize bother disgruntle

Questions

What does grind one's gears mean?
To annoy or irritate one.
Where does grind one's gears come from?
As an analogy to a state in a multispeed internal combustion engine in which improperly synchronized inputs and outputs in the transmission during a gear shift (as by driver error or a mechanical fault) lead to literal grinding of gears against each other as they're forced to mesh at different speeds from one another. The noise produced is harsh and grating, and damage to the transmission can accumulate with repeated occurrences.

How to pronounce grind one's gears

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “grind one's gears”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “grind one's gears”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “grind one's gears” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.