2 syllables: grind, ers. Stress on grind.
GREYEN-durz
/ˈɡɹaɪndɚz/
grinders is pronounced GREYEN-durz (/ˈɡɹaɪndɚz/). It has two syllables (grind-ers), with the stress on "grind". Grinders is the plural noun or verb form related to grinding. As a noun, it refers to devices or people that grind substances (or teeth) into smaller pieces; as a verb, it denotes the act of grinding. In everyday use, you’ll hear it in contexts like machinery descriptions, food preparation, or idiomatic phrases about relentless effort.
Grinders is the plural noun or verb form related to grinding. As a noun, it refers to devices or people that grind substances (or teeth) into smaller pieces; as a verb, it denotes the act of grinding. In everyday use, you’ll hear it in contexts like machinery descriptions, food preparation, or idiomatic phrases about relentless effort.
- You tend to fuse /n/ and /d/ quickly, causing a blurred middle consonant sequence. Remedy: insert a crisp /n/ stop with a short pause briefly before /d/, particularly in slower speech. - The /aɪ/ diphthong can slide toward /a/ in rapid speech, making the first syllable sound like /ɡrænd/; fix by fully articulating the diphthong: move from /aɪ/ toward /ɪ/ at the end before the /n/. - Final /ərz/ may be reduced to a schwa or dropped entirely in casual speech; practice keeping the /ər/ as a distinct syllable, then add the /z/ for a natural ending for plural. Practice by saying /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/ slowly, then speed up while maintaining the distinct /d/ and /z/.
"The workshop had several industrial grinders running all day."
"She bought a coffee grinder and some fresh beans to grind."
"The grinders in the mill wore down the stones after years of use."
You say /ˈɡraɪn.dɚz/ in US English, with primary stress on the first syllable: GRAHN-ders. In careful speech, you release the /d/ clearly between /aɪ/ and /ɚ/. In UK English, it’s /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/ or /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/, with a reduced second syllable vowel; in Australian English, /ˈɡɹaɪn.dəz/ or /ˈɡɹaɪn.dəz/, with a slightly non-rhotic or weakly rhotic quality. Listen for the /ɡ/ onset, a clear /aɪ/ diphthong, and the final voiced /z/ or /z/ realization depending on speed and register.
Common errors include flattening the /aɪ/ into a plain /a/, producing /ɡraɪndərz/ with a weak or lost /d/ or misplacing stress, and voicing the ending as /s/ instead of /z/. To correct: ensure the nucleus is the diphthong /aɪ/ in the first syllable, clearly articulate the /d/ before the suffix, and finish with a voiced /z/ in fluent speech. Practice by exaggerating the /d/ and then easing into natural speech while maintaining the /ˈɡraɪn.dɚz/ rhythm.
In US English, you’ll hear a clear /ˈɡraɪn.dərz/ with a pronounced /ɚ/ in the second syllable and a final /z/. UK English tends toward /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/ with a more centralized or reduced vowel in the second syllable and a softer /z/; Australians often use /ˈɡɹaɪn.dəz/ with a slight non-rhotic touch and a vowel quality that’s closer to /ə/ in casual speech. The primary distinctions are rhoticity and the quality of the second syllable vowel and the final consonant voicing.
The difficulty lies in the consonant cluster between /n/ and the final /d/ and the transition from the dipped /aɪ/ nucleus to the rhotacized final /ər/ or /ərz/. Non-native speakers may merge /aɪ/ with /a/ or drop the /d/, and some struggle with maintaining a voiced final /z/ in rapid speech. Focus on separating the /n/ and /d/, keep the diphthong intact, and practice the final -ers ending as /-ərz/ rather than compressing it.
The word’s unique feature is the consonant transition from /n/ to /d/ in the middle of the word, which can blur in fast speech. You’ll benefit from a deliberate pause or slower articulation between /n/ and /d/ to maintain clarity. Also, the final /ərz/ can be produced with a slightly schwa-like nucleus before the rhotic tail in some accents, which affects rhythm and linkage to following words.
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- US: Heavier rhotic Vowel ɚ in /dərz/; crisp /d/ release before the tail. - UK: Slightly more centralized /ə/ in the second syllable and less pronounced rhoticity; final /z/ remains voiceless in some dialects; aim for /dəz/ with less elongation. - AU: Similar to UK but with broader vowel lip rounding in /ɹaɪn/ and a possible soft /ɜː/ for the second-syllable vowel; final /z/ often realized as /z/ with clear voicing. IPA references: US /ˈɡraɪn.dɚz/, UK /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/, AU /ˈɡraɪn.dəz/.
Grinders comes from the noun grind, derived from Old English grindan, which traces back to Proto-Germanic grundijan and Proto-Indo-European root ghren- meaning to grind or shake. The suffix -er is a productive agentive marker in English, turning the verb “to grind” into an agent noun representing someone or something that grinds. The word has long been used to describe machinery or people that perform grinding. In Middle English, forms like grinder existed in restricted technical contexts, but with the Industrial Revolution, the term broadened to include machines (grinding mills, bench grinders) and workers in industries that require material reduction. Over time, grinder also appeared in slang as someone who persists or works at a tedious job, sometimes with a neutral or negative connotation depending on context. First known written uses appear in technical manuals and industrial catalogs from the 17th to 19th centuries, with more widespread usage in 19th-century manufacturing literature and later in modern everyday language. The plural form grinders became common as plural references to multiple machines or workers performing grinding tasks in factories, kitchens, and workshops.
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Words that rhyme with "grinders"
-ers sounds
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