grunt

American  

[gruhnt] / grʌnt /

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to express with a grunt.

noun

1. a sound of grunting.

2. New England Cooking. a dessert, typically of cherries, peaches, or apples sweetened and spiced, and topped with biscuit dough.

3. any food fish of the family Pomadasyidae (Haemulidae), found chiefly in tropical and subtropical seas, that emits grunting sounds.

4. Slang. a soldier, especially an infantryman.

5. Slang. a common or unskilled worker; laborer.

grunt British  

/ ɡrʌnt /

verb

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

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noun

1. the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust

2. any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum ( Spanish grunt ), that utter a grunting sound when caught

3. slang an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War

Other Word Forms

• gruntingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of grunt

First recorded before 900; Middle English grunten, Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian “to grunt”; cognate with German grunzen, Latin grunnīre

Explanation

If your younger brother is particularly grouchy, he might simply grunt in answer to your question about whose turn it is to take out the garbage. A grunt is a short, deep sound. If you think about the noise a pig makes, you'll have a good idea of what a grunt sounds like. It's an animal-like sound that people make when they're inarticulate, angry, sullen, or lazy — or sometimes if they're hurt or afraid. Pigs and other animals grunt too, no matter what their moods may be. The Old English root word, grunnettan, most likely came from the sound of a grunt.

Example Sentences

Directed by Adrian Lyne, the film follows Alex, who works at a steel mill in Pittsburgh and lives in an old warehouse with her adorably tough dog, Grunt.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2023

That was the start of Street Grunt Photography.

From Washington Times • Mar. 7, 2020

My own irony meter was damaged, perhaps permanently, by my prolonged contemplation of a Grunt Style graphic T-shirt that appropriates an anti-imperialist ditty from “Team America: World Police.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 6, 2019

Duff makes several excellent points that anybody with a passing knowledge of infantry and Special Ops combat would appreciate, being a Grunt is putting yourself "out there".

From Time • Feb. 2, 2013

“A gift from the chickens,” Deirdre explained, winking as Grunt pressed it into my hands.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• groan