grouse
1 Americannoun
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grouse,
plural
-
grouses
plural
-
any of numerous gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae.
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British. the red grouse.
verb (used without object)
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grouses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
groused,
past participle, past
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grousing
present participle
noun
adjective
verb
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grousesimple
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grousessimple
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have grousedperfect
-
has grousedperfect
-
am grousingprogressive
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are grousingprogressive
-
is grousingprogressive
-
have been grousingperfect progressive
-
has been grousingperfect progressive
Past
-
grousedsimple
-
had grousedperfect
-
was grousingprogressive
-
were grousingprogressive
-
had been grousingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grouse1
First recorded in 1525–35; origin uncertain
Origin of grouse2
First recorded in 1885–1900; originally British army slang; further origin uncertain; see also grouch
Origin of grouse3
First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Explanation
A grouse is a plump little bird. Don’t like birds? You can grouse, or complain, about them. The word grouse means both, but a grouse wouldn’t grouse because birds don’t whine. The word grouse has been around since the 1500s, referring to a ground-dwelling game bird with feathery feet and legs. It’s a bird, so people hunt it, which is maybe how grouse came to mean “to complain” a few hundred years later. You might grouse about the amount of homework your social studies teacher assigns or about the terrible weather or about the high price of gas. People will grouse about pretty much anything!
Vocabulary lists containing grouse
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Maniac Magee
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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:
But some restaurateurs grouse that the apps also make diners feel removed from a restaurant and more blase about canceling, and less likely to just walk in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
It is drawing up plans for data centers that look more like Silicon Valley tech campuses or art museums, rather than windowless rectangles that neighbors often grouse about resembling prisons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
There was nothing I could grouse about, and I simply admired a good game played.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2025
Experts believe that thousands of animals and other wildlife were killed in the flames - including curlew, grouse chicks and hares.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025
The grouse appeared to pity Clare for his ignorance—a look he did not appreciate.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
But one you can see being played out every time someone grouses that they really wanted to read that article/see that show except they “hit the damn paywall.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
Occasionally, someone grouses to McKim that he’s disrespecting books by selling them as decor, presumably because they’re no longer meant to be read.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2022
"Here we go again. Give Ted another idea he'll take all the credit for," Nate grouses in the latest heart-wrenching episode of "Ted Lasso."
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2021
Even when he’s en route to get a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he grouses about how he got wrapped up in all of this nonsense.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 24, 2020
“D’you know,” the man grouses, “I could file a report. I stepped out for a moment, came back, and found her rummaging through the drawers of my desk. Outrageous!”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Trump’s arch, groused the New York Times, “would drastically change the sightlines between some of the country’s most symbolic memorials.”
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
“Had it not been for this infamous island, the American rebellion could not possibly have subsisted,” groused British Adm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Fans and some artists have long groused about Ticketmaster, which was founded in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Some users groused on X about feeling cheated by the decision.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 1, 2026
“I just bet two jots on a boy who wants to study bedtime stories,” Manet groused, gesturing to me with his fork.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
At the time, “Ohio” received criticism similar to the reaction to “Streets of Minneapolis:” a mix of grousing about rich rock stars capitalizing on tragedy combined with grumbling that the song just wasn’t very good.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2026
The Wall Street Journal’s quiz on office manners stoked much debate and some grousing about what’s polite behavior in the modern workplace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
This might seem like get-off-my-lawn grousing from a critic who misses the good old days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
By Tuesday night, however, he was grousing on his Truth Social website that China wasn't giving credit to the US for its support in World War Two.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
But on most days, especially the warm ones, life exhausts him; the worsening traffic and graffiti and company politics, everyone grousing about bonuses, benefits, overtime.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
