the nitty-gritty

noun

informal
: the most important and basic facts or details about something
He deals with the nitty-gritty of running the department.
Let's get down to the nitty-gritty and find out what happened.

Examples of the nitty-gritty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
To assess whether social media is generally harmful to kids and teens, lawyers will have to argue about the nitty-gritty of a complicated and conflicted scientific field. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026 But some of Friday’s meeting dealt with the nitty-gritty of how the bills would work. Idaho Statesman, 6 Feb. 2026 At the same time, the TV veteran will have to learn the nitty-gritty of running a film studio and guide the production units, networks and platforms through the disruption that is only growing as generative AI becomes a force for content creation. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026 If Part 1 is really a fairy tale, Part 2 does get into the nitty-gritty of the reality of their situation a little bit more. Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the nitty-gritty

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The nitty-gritty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20nitty-gritty. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster