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
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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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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:
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
However the BBC understands there are capercaillie - a large woodland grouse - around Ryvoan.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 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
Granddad’s out fishing for trout in the river with a homemade rod or hunting grouse or partridge across the fields.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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
An attendee grouses, “Even though the shows were recorded all summer, it feels like it happened and then they threw it away.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
"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
A now gray-haired 60-something comic grouses and grumbles about a wide variety of topics in the stand-up special “Brian Regan: On the Rocks.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2021
“I can’t believe Kiley accused me of just wanting attention,” Addie grouses.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
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
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
“You look a fool, boy,” Carter groused as he made his way slowly through the door, walking with the stiff care of the recently injured.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
But the move, he assured grousing Protestant leaders, had nothing to do with “the functions of church and state.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
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
It’s tempting to dismiss the statement as the normal grousing of a big industry about a government regulation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
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
The boys started grousing and said they wanted a raisin and Nellie said it wasn’t her fault.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
