grouse
1 Americannoun
-
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)
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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
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grousesimple
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grousessimple
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have grousedperfect
-
has grousedperfect
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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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Birds, Birds, Birds, List 1
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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 reversal of fortune prompted network executives to grouse that the Emmys had become a three-hour commercial for streaming services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
That afternoon, he managed to drop a grouse from 30 yards—dinner for the night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
It comes as the Scottish government enters the final stages of introducing licences for muirburn - the controlled burning of heather on moorland primarily managed for grouse shooting.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In another spot of good news, firefighters Thursday rescued from the heart of the fire zone a black grouse -- an endangered species, with only 14 males and four or five females remaining in Belgium.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
And every night, as the old man left for his room at the Y, he would grouse, “You oughta go to school.”
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
In his new special, the comic Danny Jolles grouses about the magician David Blaine, famous for stunts like burying himself alive or holding his breath for 17 minutes.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 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
That includes an almond farmer in the Central Valley who grouses that the average Californian doesn’t understand what he does for a living or how much his crop contributes to the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2021
“I can’t believe Kiley accused me of just wanting attention,” Addie grouses.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
Executives at the broadcast networks have groused for years that the telecast had become an advertisement for its competition, first when premium cable networks such as HBO and Showtime scored multiple wins and nominations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
But although he may have groused privately, Bill Clinton did not retaliate against her; Reno remained at the Justice Department throughout his two terms.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
Some users groused on X about feeling cheated by the decision.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 1, 2026
“Well, if we don’t win anything extra by helping you guys,” groused the guy from New York City, “why should we help? We’ve already scored our college scholarships.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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
Notwithstanding Tellers grousing, Los Alamos actually was making significant progress on the Super.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
