grouse

¹ American  

[grous] / graʊs /

noun

plural

grouse, grouses

1. any of numerous gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae.

2. British. the red grouse.

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grouse ² American  

[grous] / graʊs /

verb (used without object)

groused, grousing

1. to grumble; complain.

   I've never met anyone who grouses so much about his work.

   Synonyms:

   fuss, fret, gripe

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noun

1. a complaint.

grouse ³ American  

[grous] / graʊs /

adjective

Australian Slang.

1. excellent; great; wonderful.

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grouse ¹ British  

/ ɡraʊs /

verb

1. (intr) to grumble; complain

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noun

1. a persistent complaint

grouse ² British  

/ ɡraʊs /

noun

1. any gallinaceous bird of the family Tetraonidae, occurring mainly in the N hemisphere, having a stocky body and feathered legs and feet. They are popular game birds See also black grouse red grouse

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adjective

1. slang excellent

Other Word Forms

• grouseless adjective
• grouselike adjective
• grouser noun

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; grouch

Origin of grouse³

First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

“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 Literature

“He groused, ‘Look, we played straight Sousa marches in the last war, and we did all right, didn’t we?’

From The Wall Street Journal

“I’m just saying it would be nice if we lived someplace where the closest first-run movie theater wasn’t seventeen hours away by train,” George groused.

From Literature

It’s tempting to dismiss the statement as the normal grousing of a big industry about a government regulation.

From Los Angeles Times

One can almost hear Hawks grouse in response: “Rich? Profound? I was just trying to entertain people.”

From The Wall Street Journal