I love Sessler's Soapbox.

I believe Grinding in this context is closer to the definition that it is laborious, monotonous, hard work. It's more than just fighting random enemies in an RPG to gain experience for the next level, though that is the most commonly used application.

For me, it depends on the game, how it's executed and what the rewards are. I might stop playing a traditional JRPG if I find my level is too low to accomplish something, because I do not want to grind in its boring battle system to get up to that level. But then on the other hand, I grind like nobody's business in Demon's Souls, and think almost nothing of it.