Bruxism

//ˈbɹʌksɪz(ə)m// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The habit or practice of grinding the teeth, as while sleeping, or due to stress or certain drugs. uncountable, usually

    "Bruxism is defined as occlusal stress during sleep."

  2. 2
    involuntarily or unconsciously clenching or grinding the teeth, typically during sleep wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
bruxation

Example

More examples

"Bruxism is defined as occlusal stress during sleep."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βρυχή (brukhḗ, “grinding of teeth”) + English -ism (suffix forming nouns indicating a tendency of action, behaviour, condition, or state). The word βρυχή is derived from Ancient Greek βρύκω (brúkō, “bite, chew; devour, gobble; grind one's teeth, gnash”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.