grunt

[gruhnt]
verb (used without object)
1.
to utter the deep, guttural sound characteristic of a hog.
2.
to utter a similar sound.
3.
to grumble, as in discontent.
verb (used with object)
4.
to express with a grunt.
noun
5.
a sound of grunting.
6.
New England Cookery. a dessert, typically of cherries, peaches, or apples sweetened and spiced, and topped with biscuit dough.
7.
any food fish of the family Pomadasyidae (Haemulidae), found chiefly in tropical and subtropical seas, that emits grunting sounds.
8.
Slang. a soldier, especially an infantryman.
9.
Slang. a common or unskilled worker; laborer.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English grunten, Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian to grunt; cognate with German grunzen, Latin grunnīre

Related forms
grunt·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Grunt is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
chat, to converse
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Collins
World English Dictionary
grunt (ɡrʌnt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
1.  (intr) (esp of pigs and some other animals) to emit a low short gruff noise
2.  (when tr, may take a clause as object) to express something gruffly: he grunted his answer
 
—n
3.  the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust
4.  any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum (Spanish grunt), that utter a grunting sound when caught
5.  slang (US) an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War
 
[Old English grunnettan, probably of imitative origin; compare Old High German grunnizōn, grunni moaning, Latin grunnīre]
 
'gruntingly
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

grunt
O.E. grunnettan, freq. of grunian "to grunt," probably imitative. The noun meaning "infantry" emerged in U.S. military slang during Vietnam War (first recorded in print 1969); used since 1900 of various low-level workers. Grunt work first recorded 1977.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

grunt definition

[grənt]
  1. n.
    an infantry soldier. (Military. From the gutteral sound made by a pig, and anyone doing very heavy labor.) : Get those grunts out on the field at sunrise!
  2. n.
    a low-ranking or subservient person. (Someone who is likely to utter a grunt because of the discomforts of menial labor.) : Let's hire a grunt to do this kind of work.
  3. n.
    a belch. : Does that grunt mean you like my cooking?
  4. n.
    a hardworking student. : The grunts got Bs on the test. It was that hard!
  5. n.
    a wrestler. (Possibly in reference to a grunting pig.) : Two big grunts wearing outlandish costumes performed for the television cameras.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

grunt

any of about 75 species of marine fishes of the families Pomadasyidae and Banjosidae (order Perciformes). Grunts are found along shores in warm and tropical waters of the major oceans. They are snapperlike but with weaker teeth and are named for the piglike grunts they can produce with their pharyngeal (throat) teeth. Some (genus Haemulon) are further characterized by bright, reddish mouth linings. Grunts are edible and valued as food, though most species are small. Some are noted for a behavioral trait in which two individuals approach and "kiss." The purpose of this, whether sexual or aggressive, is not known.

Learn more about grunt with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
The machines doing the grunt work loosen the dust and send it airborne where
  workers can breathe it in copiously.
Those of us pacing beneath listen to him grunt and huff.
As in, pick it up and ugh and grunt as you place it.
The grunt work paid off, and a new era of campaigning began.
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