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Gritty comes from grit ("small hard granules"), which in turn derives, via Middle English, from an Old English word for "sand" or "gravel." Grit has been around since before the 12th century, but the first appearance of gritty in print in English was near the end of the 16th century, when it was used in the sense of "resembling or containing small hard granules." Grit entered American slang with the meaning "courage or persistence" in the early 19th century, and gritty followed suit with a corresponding "plucky" sense. By the 19th century's end, gritty was also being used to describe a literary style that was rough and coarse.
Examples of gritty in a Sentence
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2025
The movie featured a starry cast — Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Orlando Bloom, and many more — in a gritty, chaotic portrait of urban warfare that impressed audiences and critics alike.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
Sebastian Stan!), works well enough as a vigorous, prosaic, more-stand-alone-than-not adventure that balances shield-bashing, sky-zipping action with the elements of a gritty geopolitical thriller.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Feb. 2025
Shepard, who died at age 73 in 2017, explored the gritty and shadowy underside of life and the consequences of decisions, trying to balance and sort out the good from the bad.
—Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for gritty 
Dictionary Entries Near gritty
Cite this Entry
“Gritty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gritty. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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