chunter

American

[chuhn-ter] / ˈtʃʌn tər /

verb (used without object)

British Informal.

to grumble or grouse mildly or tediously.

chunter British

/ ˈtʃʌnə, ˈtʃʌntə /

verb

informal to mutter or grumble incessantly in a meaningless fashion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of chunter

First recorded in 1590–1600; originally dialect (Midlands, N England) chunter, chunder, chunner; compare Scots channer in same sense; expressive word of obscure origin

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:

chunter

So why did the FSA allow the Co-op Bank continue to chunter down the track towards this proposed massive expansion?

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2013

Built on a relentless but shifting rhythmic chunter, it dies away to the sound of a lonely drum, but not before a high tintinnabulation on glockenspiel has told us that someone has won big.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2013

All these approaches mean that Moore’s law should be able to chunter along for a few more years, at least.

From Economist ● Aug. 17, 2011

It was solid, if unspectacular entertainment and the murmuring members found time to tut and chunter as the umpire called "net" instead of "let" on a succession of let services.

From Reuters ● Jun. 21, 2011

Since she had another seat and was quite comfortable, we smiled and let her chunter.

From Sea and Sardinia by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023