gripe

[ grahyp ]

/ graɪp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gripe 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.

to seize and hold firmly; grip; grasp; clutch.

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

to distress or oppress.

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

to grasp or clutch, as a miser.

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

noun

the act of gripping, grasping, or clutching.

Informal. a nagging complaint.

a firm hold; clutch.

a grasp; hold; control.

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.

a handle, hilt, etc.

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

Nearby words

Origin of gripe

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

SYNONYMS FOR gripe

1. whine, mutter, carp, rail, bellyache.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gripe ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsgrip·er, noungripe·ful, adjectivegrip·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confusedgrip gripe grippe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for griping

Nor that Israeli and Palestinian officials have recently been griping to the Israeli press about Kerry's full head of steam.
Kerry's Peace Push A Nothing-Burger?|Ali Gharib|May 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Because I'm partisan, I'll feature the griping from the Democratic side of the aisle.
Whiny Senators Gripe About Having to Work|Justin Green|December 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was an insider who insisted on being an outsider—and then on griping about it.
Stephen Schiff: My (Relatively Small) Crime Against Gore Vidal|Stephen Schiff|August 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The next moment Bonham Carter was griping about how Burton's special effects made her less attractive.
How Helena Became a Freak|Gina Piccalo|March 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST

He was griping at the guards and complaining incoherently about his lawyers.
John Grisham's First Short Story: Part Two|John Grisham|October 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
However, I knew that Anselmo, though a griping was a trustworthy man, and I felt safe in his renewed promise.
Devereux, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
He was regarded by all as an avaricious, griping old miser, whose whole life was devoted to the hoarding up of gold.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851|Various
I began to weary of the small Yankee greed and griping and “thanklessness” which I experienced.
Memoirs|Charles Godfrey Leland
So, even while he was their griping taskmaster and never gave them a good word, he had written their names down in his will.
Our Mutual Friend|Charles Dickens
The griping pains that accompany the "Caisson Disease" are excruciating.
Inventions of the Great War|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond

British Dictionary definitions for griping

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 Formsgriper, 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

Word Origin and History for griping

gripe

Old English gripan "grasp at, lay hold, attack, take, seek to get hold of," from Proto-Germanic *gripanan (cf. Old Saxon gripan, Old Norse gripa, Dutch grijpen, Gothic greipan, Old High German grifan, German greifen "to seize"), from PIE root *ghreib- "to grip" (cf. Lithuanian griebiu "to seize"). Figurative sense of "complain, grouse" is first attested 1932, probably from earlier meaning "gripping pain in the bowels" (c.1600; cf. bellyache). Related: Griped; griping.

gripe

late 14c., from gripe (v.). Figurative sense by 1934.

Medicine definitions for griping

gripe

[ grīp ]

v.

To have sharp pains in the bowels.

n.

gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels.

A firm hold; a grasp.

gripe

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

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

noun

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Origin of gripe

Examples from the Web for griping

gripe

verb

noun

Word Origin for gripe

gripe

gripe

gripe

v.

n.