Main Difference
The main difference between Cereal and Grain is that the Cereal is a grass of which the fruits are used as grain, or the fruits themselves and Grain is a small, hard, dry seed used as food; may be ground into flour.
Cereal
A cereal is any edible components of the grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis) of cultivated grass, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop and are therefore staple crops. Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat (Polygonaceae), quinoa (Amaranthaceae) and chia (Lamiaceae), are referred to as pseudocereals.
In their natural, unprocessed, whole grain form, cereals are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. When processed by the removal of the bran, and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate. In some developing countries, grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. In developed countries, cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial.
The word cereal is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture.
Grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry seed, with or without an attached hull or fruit layer, harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.
After being harvested, dry grains are more durable than other staple foods, such as starchy fruits (plantains, breadfruit, etc.) and tubers (sweet potatoes, cassava, and more). This durability has made grains well suited to industrial agriculture, since they can be mechanically harvested, transported by rail or ship, stored for long periods in silos, and milled for flour or pressed for oil. Thus, major global commodity markets exist for maize, rice, soybeans, wheat and other grains but not for tubers, vegetables, or other crops.
Cereal (noun)
A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.
Cereal (noun)
The grains of such a grass.
Cereal (noun)
Breakfast cereal.
“Would you like some cereal?”
“Which cereal would you like for breakfast?”
Grain (noun)
The harvested seeds of various grass food crops eg: wheat, corn, barley.
“We stored a thousand tons of grain for the winter.”
Grain (noun)
Similar seeds from any food crop, eg buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa.
Grain (noun)
A single seed of grass food crops.
“a grain of wheat”
“grains of oat”
Grain (noun)
The crops from which grain is harvested.
“The fields were planted with grain.”
Grain (noun)
A linear texture of a material or surface.
“Cut along the grain of the wood.”
“He doesn’t like to shave against the grain.”
Grain (noun)
A single particle of a substance.
“a grain of sand”
“a grain of salt”
Grain (noun)
A very small unit of weight, in England equal to 1/480 of an ounce troy, 0.0648 grams or, to be more exact, 64.79891 milligrams (0.002285714 avoirdupois ounce). A carat grain or pearl grain is 1/4 carat or 50 milligrams. The old French grain was 1/9216 livre or 53.11 milligrams, and in the mesures usuelles permitted from 1812 to 1839, with the livre redefined as 500 grams, it was 54.25 milligrams.
Grain (noun)
A former unit of gold purity, also known as carat grain, equal to 4 “carat” (karat).
Grain (noun)
A region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction.
Grain (noun)
A reddish dye made from the coccus insect, or kermes; hence, a red color of any tint or hue, as crimson, scarlet, etc.; sometimes used by the poets as equivalent to Tyrian purple.
Grain (noun)
The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on that side.
Grain (noun)
The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff.
Grain (noun)
A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock.
Grain (noun)
Temper; natural disposition; inclination.
Grain (noun)
Visual texture in processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons.
Grain (noun)
A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant.
Grain (noun)
A tine, prong, or fork.
Grain (noun)
One of the branches of a valley or river.
Grain (noun)
An iron fish spear or harpoon, with a number of points half-barbed inwardly.
Grain (noun)
A thin piece of metal, used in a mould to steady a core.
Grain (verb)
To feed grain to.
Grain (verb)
To make granular; to form into grains.
Grain (verb)
To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization; to granulate.
Grain (verb)
To texture a surface in imitation of the grain of a substance such as wood.
Grain (verb)
To remove the hair or fat from a skin.
Grain (verb)
To soften leather.
Grain (verb)
To yield fruit.
Grain (noun)
wheat or any other cultivated cereal used as food.
Grain (noun)
the seeds of wheat or other cultivated cereals.
Grain (noun)
a single fruit or seed of a cereal
“a few grains of corn”
Grain (noun)
a small hard particle of a substance such as salt or sand
“a grain of salt”
Grain (noun)
the smallest possible quantity or amount of a quality
“there wasn’t a grain of truth in what he said”
Grain (noun)
a discrete particle or crystal in a metal, igneous rock, etc., typically visible only when a surface is magnified.
Grain (noun)
a piece of solid propellant for use in a rocket engine.
Grain (noun)
the smallest unit of weight in the troy and avoirdupois systems, equal to 1/5760 of a pound troy and 1/7000 of a pound avoirdupois (approximately 0.0648 gram).
Grain (noun)
the longitudinal arrangement or pattern of fibres in wood, paper, etc.
“he scored along the grain of the table with the knife”
Grain (noun)
the texture of wood, stone, etc., as determined by the arrangement and size of constituent particles
“the lighter, finer grain of the wood is attractive”
Grain (noun)
the rough or wrinkled outer surface of leather, or of a similar artificial material.
Grain (noun)
lamination or planes of cleavage in materials such as stone and coal.
Grain (noun)
a grainy appearance of a photograph or negative, which is in proportion to the size of the emulsion particles composing it.
Grain (noun)
a person’s character or natural tendency.
Grain (noun)
kermes or cochineal, or dye made from either of these.
Grain (verb)
give a rough surface or texture to
“her fingers were grained with chalk dust”
Grain (verb)
form into grains
“if the sugar does grain up, add more water”
Grain (verb)
paint (especially furniture or interior surfaces) in imitation of the grain of wood or marble.
Grain (verb)
remove hair from (a hide).
Grain (verb)
feed (a horse) on grain.