gripe

[ grahyp ]

/ graɪp /

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See synonyms for: gripe / griping / griper on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), griped, grip·ing.

Informal. to complain naggingly or constantly; grumble.

to suffer pain in the bowels.

Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to tend to come into the wind; to be ardent.

verb (used with object), griped, grip·ing.

Informal. to annoy or irritate: His tone of voice gripes me.

to produce pain in (the bowels) as if by constriction.

to distress, afflict, or oppress: poverty that gripes and pinches us.

Nautical. to secure (a lifeboat) to a deck or against a pudding boom on davits.

Archaic.

to seize and hold firmly with the hand, claws, etc.; grasp; clutch.
to greedily take possession of and hold tightly:The miser gripes his money for fear of losing it.

noun

Informal. a nagging complaint.

Usually gripes. Pathology. an intermittent spasmodic pain in the bowels.

something that grips or clutches; a claw or grip.

Nautical.

a lashing or chain by which a boat is secured to a deck or in position on davits.
Also called gripe piece . a curved timber connecting the stem or cutwater of a wooden hull with the keel.
the exterior angle or curve formed by this piece; forefoot.
the forward end of the dished keel of a metal hull.

Archaic.

the act of gripping, grasping, or clutching.
a firm hold; clutch.
mastery; hold; control.

Rare. a handle, hilt, etc.

OTHER WORDS FOR gripe

1 whine, mutter, carp, rail, bellyache.

See synonyms for gripe on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of gripe

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gripen, Old English grīpan; cognate with Dutch grijpen, German griefen; see grip, grope

OTHER WORDS FROM gripe

griper, noungripeful, adjectivegrip·ing·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH gripe

grip, gripe , grippe

Words nearby gripe

gringa, gringo, grin like a Cheshire cat, griot, grip, gripe, gripe water, gripey, gripman, grippe, gripper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use gripe in a sentence

Attacked by sadistic rustics with a social media gripe, the owner of the Facebook-like ConFab tells Pickett that if he dies in the wilderness at least “it’ll go viral.”
Five thrillers to read now — and soon|Richard Lipez|March 5, 2021|Washington Post
It would be ludicrous to gripe about Louis-Dreyfus winning again for her work in Veep.
What's TV's Funniest Show? Our Emmy Awards Comedy Predictions|Kevin Fallon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My big gripe with the old TV shows was their reliance on predictable formulas.
Five Lessons the Faltering Music Industry Could Learn From TV|Ted Gioia|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Later, another senior NCO chased me down the hall to gripe about how my pants met my boots.
How I’ll End the War: My First Week Back in Afghanistan|Nick Willard|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Well, I have a gripe with the pope, was a bit disgusted, and was struck by his radical views.
A Catholic Ex-Banker on Pope Francis’s Radical Views|Chris Lowney|December 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The gripe is much older than the bloggers and tweeters who are its latest targets.
Social Media is So Old Even the Romans Had It|Nick Romeo|October 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Peer Khan uttered the fatal words, and Ghuffoor Khan wrestled out his last agony under my never-failing gripe.
Confessions of a Thug|Philip Meadows Taylor
The pincers gripe, the pliers handle; the one is like the closed hand, the other like the fingers.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
It was safe enough for a high-ranking labman to gripe about Security—in fact, it was more or less expected.
Security|Poul William Anderson
What has posterity done for us / That we, lest they their rights should lose, / Should trust our necks to gripe of noose?
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
It is weaker than Barbadoes or even hepatic aloes, and is more apt to gripe, &c., than the latter.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for gripe

gripe

/ (ɡraɪp) /

verb

(intr) informal to complain, esp in a persistent nagging manner

to cause sudden intense pain in the intestines of (a person) or (of a person) to experience this pain

(intr) nautical (of a ship) to tend to come up into the wind in spite of the helm

archaic to clutch; grasp

(tr) archaic to afflict

noun

(usually plural) a sudden intense pain in the intestines; colic

informal a complaint or grievance

rare

the act of gripping
a firm grip
a device that grips

(in plural) nautical the lashings that secure a boat

Derived forms of gripe

griper, noungripingly, adverb

Word Origin for gripe

Old English grīpan; related to Gothic greipan, Old High German grīfan to seize, Lithuanian greibiu

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

Medical definitions for gripe

gripe

[ grīp ]

To have sharp pains in the bowels.

gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels.

A firm hold; a grasp.

gripe

OTHER WORDS FOR gripe

Origin of gripe

OTHER WORDS FROM gripe

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH gripe

Words nearby gripe

Words related to gripe

How to use gripe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gripe

Derived forms of gripe

Word Origin for gripe

Medical definitions for gripe