Meanings
groin1
plural groins
- The crease or depression of the human body at the junction of the trunk and the thigh, together with the surrounding region.
The Mexican levelled nine minutes from time after Steven Gerrard, making his first start since undergoing groin surgery in April, put Liverpool ahead with a 68th-minute free-kick.
2011 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 21 Oct 2022 - The area adjoining this fold or depression.
He pulled a muscle in his groin.
- architectureThe projecting solid angle formed by the meeting of two vaults
- geometryThe surface formed by two such vaults.
- euphemisticThe genitals.
He got kicked in the groin and was writhing in pain.
1 more example
My friend […] discovered in his early teen years a passion for both men and opera. He frequented the Met to satisfy his ear but had little knowledge or experience of where to find partners and satisfy his groin.
1981 December 5, Michael Bronski, “Coming (Out) to Opera”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 20, page 5
present singular third person groins · participle present groining · participle past groined · past groined
- To deliver a blow to the genitals of.
She groined him and ran to the car.
1 more example
In the scrum he somehow got groined.
- architectureTo build or furnish with a groin or groins.
1 more example
The part of the village in which I resided was a grove of cocoa-nut trees, and at night, when the dead leaves were sometimes collected together and burnt, the effect was most magnificent - the tall stems, the fine crowns of foliage, and the immense fruit-clusters, being brilliantly illuminated against a dark sky, and appearing like a fairy palace supported on a hundred columns, and groined over with leafy arches.
1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 50 - literarytransitiveTo hollow out; to excavate.
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped / Through granites which titanic wars had groined.
1918, Wilfred Owen, Strange Meeting
groin2
present singular third person groins · participle present groining · participle past groined · past groined
- To grunt; to growl; to snarl; to murmur.
Beares, that groynd continually
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 271 more example
Such tunges ſhuld be torne out by the harde rootes,
c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
groin3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals
nouna protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
groin · noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰrem-
- Proto-Germanic*grunduz
- Proto-Germanic*grundiją
- Proto-West Germanic*grundī
- Old Englishgrynde
- Middle Englishgrinde
- Englishgrine
- Englishloininflu.
- Englishgroin
From earlier grine, from Middle English grinde, grynde, from Old English grynde (“abyss”) (perhaps also "depression, hollow"), probably related to Proto-Germanic *grunduz; see ground. Later altered under the influence of loin.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →groin · verb
- Proto-Germanic*grunnōną
- Old Englishgrunnian
- Latingrunniō
- Old Frenchgroignier
- Middle Englishgroynen
- Englishgroin
From Middle English groynen, from a mixture of Old French groignier, grougnier (from Latin grunniō) and Old English grunnian (from Proto-Germanic *grunnōną).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans lies
- lieslong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Ancient Greek βουβών
- βουβών (boubṓn)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Arabic أُرْبِيَّة, مَغْبَن
- أُرْبِيَّة (ʔurbiyya)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- مَغْبَن (maḡban)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Basque iztai
- iztailong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Bengali কুঁচকি
- কুঁচকি (kũcoki)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Bulgarian слабина
- слабина (slabina)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Catalan engonal, entrecuix
- engonallong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- entrecuixlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Chinese Mandarin 腹股溝 /腹股沟, 鼠蹊
- 腹股溝 /腹股沟 (fùgǔgōu)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 鼠蹊 (shǔxī)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Czech rozkrok, tříslo
- rozkroklong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- tříslolong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Danish lyske, skridt
- lyskelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- skridtlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Dutch lies
- lieslong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Esperanto ingveno
- ingvenolong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Estonian kube
- kubelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Finnish nivuset
- nivusetlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
French aine
- ainelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
German Leiste
- Leistelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Greek βουβώνας, αχαμνά
- βουβώνας (vouvónas)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- αχαμνά (achamná)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Hebrew מפשעה
- מפשעה (mifsa'a)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Hindi ऊसन्धि, उरुसंधि
- ऊसन्धि (ūsandhi)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- उरुसंधि (urusandhi)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Hungarian ágyék
- ágyéklong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Irish bléin
- bléinlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Italian inguine
- inguinelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Japanese 脚の付け根, 鼠蹊部
- 脚の付け根 (ashi no tsukene)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 鼠蹊部 (sokeibu)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 鼠蹊 (sokei)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 股 (mata)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Korean 샅, 가랑이
- 샅 (sat)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 가랑이 (garang'i)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 서혜 (seohye)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- 서혜부 (seohyebu)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Latin inguen
- inguenlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Latvian cirksnis
- cirksnislong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Lithuanian kirkšnis
- kirkšnislong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Māori tapatapa, tapa o te kūhā
- tapatapalong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- tapa o te kūhālong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Norwegian Bokmål lyske
- lyskelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Persian کشاله ران, کشاله
- کشاله ران (kašâle-ye rân)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- کشاله (kašâle)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Polish pachwina
- pachwinalong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Portuguese virilha
- virilhalong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Romanian stinghie, joncțiunea dintre coapsă și trunchi
- stinghielong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- joncțiunea dintre coapsă și trunchilong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- regiunea inghinalălong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Russian пах
- пах (pax)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Slovak slabina
- slabinalong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Spanish ingle
- inglelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Swedish ljumske
- ljumskelong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Tagalog puklo
- puklolong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Thai หน้าขา, ขาหนีบ
- หน้าขาlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- ขาหนีบlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- ง่ามขาlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Turkish kasık
- kasıklong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Ukrainian пахви́на
- пахви́на (paxvýna)long narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Vietnamese háng, vùng bẹn
- hánglong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- vùng bẹnlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
- bẹnlong narrow depression of the human body that separates the trunk from the legs
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with groin
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
groin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/groin
“groin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/groin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “groin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/groin.
Source: groin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.