grumble

[ gruhm-buhl ]
See synonyms for grumble on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),grum·bled, grum·bling.
  1. to murmur or mutter in discontent; complain sullenly: Tim always found something to grumble about.

  2. to utter low, indistinct sounds; growl: Suddenly I heard my stomach grumble, and realized I hadn't had any lunch.

  1. to rumble: The thunder grumbled in the west.

verb (used with object),grum·bled, grum·bling.
  1. to express or utter with murmuring or complaining.

noun
  1. an expression of discontent; complaint; unhappy murmur; growl.

  2. grumbles, a grumbling, discontented mood.

  1. a rumble.

Origin of grumble

1
First recorded in 1580–90; perhaps frequentative of Old English grymman “to wail”; compare Dutch grommelen, German grummeln, French grommeler (from Germanic )

synonym study For grumble

1. See complain.

Other words from grumble

  • grumbler, noun
  • grum·bling·ly, adverb
  • grumbly, adjective
  • un·grum·bling, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grumble in a sentence

  • However, I have not served my king fifty years to turn grumbler at this time of life.

    Lavengro | George Borrow
  • Warrington, the grumbler, growled out that Pen was becoming such a puppy, that soon there would be no bearing him.

    A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 | William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Stacy Brown proved the only grumbler in the lot, declaring that he could not sleep a wink on such a bed as that.

    The Pony Rider Boys in Texas | Frank Gee Patchin
  • "But we haven't got a tent, and our grub is pretty skimpy, say what you will," the grumbler went on to protest.

    Storm-Bound | Alan Douglas
  • And thus it went on in a circle without means of stopping the old grumbler.

    Hania | Henryk Sienkiewicz

British Dictionary definitions for grumble

grumble

/ (ˈɡrʌmbəl) /


verb
  1. to utter (complaints) in a nagging or discontented way

  2. (intr) to make low dull rumbling sounds

noun
  1. a complaint; grouse

  2. a low rumbling sound

Origin of grumble

1
C16: from Middle Low German grommelen, of Germanic origin; see grim

Derived forms of grumble

  • grumbler, noun
  • grumblingly, adverb
  • grumbly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012