gripe
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Origin of gripe
Synonyms for gripe
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for griping
moan, squawk, nag, carp, grumble, mutter, murmur, ache, bellyache, grouse, groan, fuss, whine, yawp, crab, grouch, yammer, kvetch, disturb, pinchExamples from the Web for griping
Contemporary Examples of griping
Nor that Israeli and Palestinian officials have recently been griping to the Israeli press about Kerry's full head of steam.
Because I'm partisan, I'll feature the griping from the Democratic side of the aisle.
He was an insider who insisted on being an outsider—and then on griping about it.
The next moment Bonham Carter was griping about how Burton's special effects made her less attractive.
He was griping at the guards and complaining incoherently about his lawyers.
Historical Examples of griping
She could not speak, just then, for the griping ache that was in her throat.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
I said only our extreme need and griping poverty justified our acts.
Caught In The NetEmile Gaboriau
It's who and what you are and who and what I am that's griping me.
TriplanetaryEdward Elmer Smith
His moans were the loudest, his convulsions the most violent, his cramps the most griping.
Sube CaneEdward Bellamy Partridge
Tom was griping because he'd have to do Devis's work and his own.
Four-Day PlanetHenry Beam Piper
gripe
- (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
- (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
Word Origin for gripe
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.
gripe
(grīp)- To have sharp pains in the bowels.
- gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels.
- A firm hold; a grasp.