grump

American  

[gruhmp] / grʌmp /

noun

1. a person given to constant complaining.

2. Informal. the grumps, a depressed or sulky mood.

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verb (used without object)

1. to complain or sulk.

grump British  

/ ɡrʌmp /

noun

1. a surly or bad-tempered person

2. (plural) a sulky or morose mood (esp in the phrase have the grumps )

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verb

1. (intr) to complain or grumble

Etymology

Origin of grump

First recorded in 1835–45; probably back formation from grumpy

Explanation

A grouchy, complaining person is a grump. If you mope around all week during a rainy vacation with your family, don't be surprised if they call you a grump. Before grump came to mean a cranky person, the phrase the grumps was used for "a fit of ill-humor." The word may stem from a now-obsolete adjective, grum, "morose or surly." If your neighbor is a grump, he won't be amused by the massive water balloon fight in your yard — but it still may be worth baking him some cookies as an apology for scaring his little dog.

Example Sentences

Add to that the traditional hassles of tangled light strings and fraught family relations, and it’s no wonder that holiday Grump Trees are selling fast at Trader Joe’s.

From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2021

There will also be knitting and gift-wrapping classes, and free Grump grocery bags for the first 250 guests.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2016

In today’s hipster New York, Josh is an early-onset codger—a kind of Forrest Grump.

From Time • Apr. 11, 2015

Grump, a black hobo born in South Dakota, agreed that a foreign journalist travelling through the Midwest qualified for the honour.

From Economist • Aug. 15, 2013

“Miss Grump got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Mr. Morrison told me, winking to show he was teasing Lissa.

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn