grump
Americannoun
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grumps
plural
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a person given to constant complaining.
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Informal. the grumps, a depressed or sulky mood.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a surly or bad-tempered person
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(plural) a sulky or morose mood (esp in the phrase have the grumps )
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A really wonderful guy, sort of a self-advocate and kind of a grump, total badass activist who has muscular dystrophy and has a tracheotomy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Mitts’ personality is reminiscent of Sam Sylvia, Maron’s lovable grump of a director on Netflix’s wrestling dramedy “GLOW.”
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2025
Howard is an old-fashioned grump, but he’s too nice to ever go full Archie.
From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
One is a cynical grump whose cold-hearted plot to steal Christmas dampens the festive mood.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2022
“He’s just an old grump, you know how turtles are.”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
What a blow to grumps who chuckle when a New York team endures a miserable season, of which plenty remain, thanks to those Mets, Giants, Rangers and, of course, the pratfalling Jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
I have grown into one of those grumps who is wary of how easily we throw around honorifics like “legendary” and “GOAT.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
But the spat punctures any suggestion that the Budget will end grumps and strops inside the party.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
A pull of a lever in this basement room brings a ghostly Marley out of a trapdoor in the floor of the stage to begin the journey of scaring Scrooge out of his holiday grumps.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Daily, all day, from inside the wagon, Caesar grumps.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
