gripe
Americanverb (used without object)
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gripes,
present (3rd person singular)
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griped,
past participle, past
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griping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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gripes,
present (3rd person singular)
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griped,
past participle, past
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griping
present participle
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Informal. to annoy or irritate.
His tone of voice gripes me.
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to produce pain in (the bowels) as if by constriction.
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to distress, afflict, or oppress.
poverty that gripes and pinches us.
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Nautical. to secure (a lifeboat) to a deck or against a pudding boom on davits.
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Archaic.
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to seize and hold firmly with the hand, claws, etc.; grasp; clutch.
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to greedily take possession of and hold tightly.
The miser gripes his money for fear of losing it.
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noun
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gripes
plural
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Informal. a nagging complaint.
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Pathology. Usually gripes. an intermittent spasmodic pain in the bowels.
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something that grips or clutches; a claw or grip.
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Nautical.
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a lashing or chain by which a boat is secured to a deck or in position on davits.
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Also called gripe piece. a curved timber connecting the stem or cutwater of a wooden hull with the keel.
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the exterior angle or curve formed by this piece; forefoot.
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the forward end of the dished keel of a metal hull.
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Archaic.
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the act of gripping, grasping, or clutching.
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a firm hold; clutch.
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mastery; hold; control.
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Rare. a handle, hilt, etc.
verb
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informal (intr) to complain, esp in a persistent nagging manner
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to cause sudden intense pain in the intestines of (a person) or (of a person) to experience this pain
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(intr) nautical (of a ship) to tend to come up into the wind in spite of the helm
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archaic to clutch; grasp
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archaic (tr) to afflict
noun
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(usually plural) a sudden intense pain in the intestines; colic
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informal a complaint or grievance
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rare
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the act of gripping
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a firm grip
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a device that grips
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(in plural) nautical the lashings that secure a boat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gripesimple
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gripessimple
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have gripedperfect
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has gripedperfect
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am gripingprogressive
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are gripingprogressive
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is gripingprogressive
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have been gripingperfect progressive
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has been gripingperfect progressive
Past
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gripedsimple
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had gripedperfect
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was gripingprogressive
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were gripingprogressive
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had been gripingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gripe
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gripen, Old English grīpan; cognate with Dutch grijpen, German griefen; see grip, grope
Explanation
The word gripe, as both noun and verb, refers to a minor complaint. Why gripe about the size of the portions when the food is so awful? The key to gripe is that as complaints go, it's trivial. You don't gripe about your house burning down or the cost of medical care. You gripe about your friend's status updates and the fact the Yankees have too much money. A gripe can last a while. For example, the city has been hearing gripes about parking rules for a generation, but as complaints go, it's just not getting a lot of traction. One person's gripe, however, can be another person's major headache. It all depends on your point of view.
Vocabulary lists containing gripe
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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:
The main gripe for the frugal is the proposed budget represents an increase of around 60 percent on the last one at a time when member states have to tighten their belts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
When Mary would gripe, she said, her dad would laugh or “just keep working.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Gains are gains, of course, so investors beating the S&P 500 have nothing to gripe about.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
That was Ainsley’s chief gripe about him: “He said he cared. He said he listened. He didn’t mean any of it. He used me.”
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Mark would gripe so much that he'd make everyone miserable.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
On listing day, X was littered with gripes from those who received far fewer than they requested.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
“You’re bleeding all over my counter,” one gripes when Miao races to a police station to report the crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
It’s a “three-ring circus”: the merits docket, the shadow docket, and the justices’ increasingly public intramural snipings and gripes.
From Slate ● May 30, 2026
This was an increase from just over 70,000 in 2020-21, with one of the main gripes about poor response times.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
The coaches were aware of the gripes, but the bottom line was that Boobie had the talent and they did not.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Some traders had griped that such markets were a sucker’s game because the shows are usually recorded before a studio audience several hours before airtime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Neither of these merit calls to the Federal Communications Commission, but past complainants griped about less.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
“The system here is broken on many levels,” she griped in a statement.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
A third member, however, griped that so many supplicants crowd the place these days that he sometimes can’t get a table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2024
“You two were supposed to make me rich,” griped Big Tony.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
Erewhon, which opened as a pop-up about a week later also elicited excitement and some griping, with critics saying the space would be better served by a less expensive option.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The 56-year-old native of upstate New York left his first term on the board prematurely in 2011, griping over policy differences.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
There was much intra-Senate grousing and griping and bickering in the days preceding Friday morning’s vote.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2026
Vassiliadis, who became a close friend, described Ralenkotter as a traditionalist: good family man, devout Catholic, not a gambler himself; even in their last conversation, Vassiliadis noted, Ralenkotter was still griping about baseball’s designated-hitter rule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
I was used to seeing Dionysus by the fireplace, playing cards and eating grapes and griping at satyrs, but Mr. D was still away.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
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