nitty-gritty

noun

nit·​ty-grit·​ty ˌni-tē-ˈgri-tē How to pronounce nitty-gritty (audio)
ˈni-tē-ˌgri-
: what is essential and basic : specific practical details
get down to the nitty-gritty of the problem
nitty-gritty adjective

Examples of nitty-gritty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That makes the underlying football nitty-gritty interesting, too. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024 The ads, says Braff, spur people to come up to him and ask for nitty-gritty details about T-Mobile’s various consumer plans. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Feb. 2024 But evolutionary explanations don’t get at the deeper problem: How, in a nitty-gritty mechanistic sense, do these patterns develop in individual animals? Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 But getting on the ballot would still be a slog of grass-roots grunt work and legal nitty-gritty that varies from state to state. Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 The sides spent eight hours going over nitty-gritty details about the use of AI, screenwriter fees, mind-numbing residual formulas and more. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 27 Sep. 2023 This is how two days of nitty-gritty lawyering has played out in Davis’s courtroom. Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2023 There’s a lot of nitty-gritty to get through in the preliminary research phase, but there are resources online. Jamie Ditaranto, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2023 While few nitty-gritty details have been revealed by producers or cast members, series creator Chris Coelen and various reps have let fans in on some of the show's secrets, including where the guys got those diamonds. Emily Becker, Women's Health, 8 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nitty-gritty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nitty-gritty was in 1934

Dictionary Entries Near nitty-gritty

Cite this Entry

“Nitty-gritty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitty-gritty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nitty-gritty

noun
nit·​ty-grit·​ty
ˈnit-ē-ˌgrit-ē,
ˌnit-ē-ˈgrit-ē
: what is essential and basic
the nitty-gritty of the problem
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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