Did you know?
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
Travis Bean, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
Reiner tells Deadline that Lake George, an idea conceptualized during the Covid-19 pandemic, was inspired by other gritty noir films like Point Blank, Midnight Run and The Asphalt Jungle.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024
The track’s gritty energy and lyrical dexterity match its collaborators, each delivering bars that solidify their place in the pantheon of hip-hop greatness.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Dec. 2024
She’s known for her edgier style and her grittier makeup.
—Elle Turner, Glamour, 5 Dec. 2024
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 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share