grouch
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
a sulky, complaining, or morose person.
- Synonyms:
- killjoy, crab, spoilsport, grumbler
-
a sulky, irritable, or morose mood.
verb
noun
-
a complaint, esp a persistent one
-
a person who is always grumbling
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grouchsimple
-
grouchessimple
-
have grouchedperfect
-
has grouchedperfect
-
are grouchingprogressive
-
am grouchingprogressive
-
is grouchingprogressive
-
have been grouchingperfect progressive
-
has been grouchingperfect progressive
Past
-
grouchedsimple
-
had grouchedperfect
-
was grouchingprogressive
-
were grouchingprogressive
-
had been grouchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grouch
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; variant of obsolete grutch, from Middle English grucchen, gruchen “to murmur, grumble,” from Old French grocier, grouchier “to grumble”; see grudge
Explanation
A grouch is a cranky person who complains a lot. You could describe your grumpy old Grandpa as a grouch. Use the noun grouch when you're talking about someone who's habitually in a terrible mood. If your usual bus driver is a grouch, he's probably always yelling at his passengers. You can also use grouch as a verb, to describe what a grouch does: grumble and gripe. The word grouch was originally 1890s United States college slang that might have come from grutch, "to murmur or complain."
Vocabulary lists containing grouch
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So you don’t have to be Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street to love the stock.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
There’s plenty of reason to trust what Sesame Workshop Vice President Sal Perez recently assured the Associated Press, that the home of Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird will never go away.
From Salon • May 18, 2025
He is becoming more and more like Oscar the Grouch.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2023
Only now, Oscar the Grouch is telling my 3-year-old son Max to “scram!” as he giggles and prods at his dingy metal trash can.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2022
“That’s when Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and Snuffleupagus were born,” said Palmer.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
