Phrase guide

universal grinder

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌjuːnɪˌvɜːsl̩ ˈɡɹaɪndə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌjunəˌvɜɹs(ə)l ˈɡɹaɪndəɹ/
  • rhymes with -aɪndə(ɹ)

1

noun

Meaning 1

A notional mechanism whereby countable nouns are made uncountable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From universal + grinder, from the idea that an object that is countable can generally be turned uncountable if put into an imaginary grinder and reduced to a mass of small pieces. The term was first used in print in a 1975 journal article by the American linguist and philosopher Francis Jeffry Pelletier (born 1944), after a suggestion of the American philosopher David Kellogg Lewis (1941–2001): see the quotation.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: kappalesanan muuttaminen ainesanaksi — notional mechanism whereby countable nouns are made uncountable
  • Xhosa: grinder yendalo yonke — notional mechanism whereby countable nouns are made uncountable