grit one's teeth

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Idioms and Phrases

Summon up one's strength to face unpleasantness or overcome a difficulty. For example, Gritting his teeth, he dove into the icy water . This expression uses grit in the sense of both clamping one's teeth together and grinding them with effort. [Late 1700s]

Word of the Day

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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