grouch
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
a sulky, complaining, or morose person.
- Synonyms:
- killjoy, crab, spoilsport, grumbler
-
a sulky, irritable, or morose mood.
verb
noun
-
a complaint, esp a persistent one
-
a person who is always grumbling
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grouchsimple
-
grouchessimple
-
have grouchedperfect
-
has grouchedperfect
-
am grouchingprogressive
-
are grouchingprogressive
-
is grouchingprogressive
-
have been grouchingperfect progressive
-
has been grouchingperfect progressive
Past
-
grouchedsimple
-
had grouchedperfect
-
was grouchingprogressive
-
were grouchingprogressive
-
had been grouchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grouch
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; variant of obsolete grutch, from Middle English grucchen, gruchen “to murmur, grumble,” from Old French grocier, grouchier “to grumble”; see grudge
Explanation
A grouch is a cranky person who complains a lot. You could describe your grumpy old Grandpa as a grouch. Use the noun grouch when you're talking about someone who's habitually in a terrible mood. If your usual bus driver is a grouch, he's probably always yelling at his passengers. You can also use grouch as a verb, to describe what a grouch does: grumble and gripe. The word grouch was originally 1890s United States college slang that might have come from grutch, "to murmur or complain."
Vocabulary lists containing grouch
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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 now that he’s gone, the hoodie-wearing coach even poked fun at his reputation as a grouch.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
In Giamatti’s hands, the dialogue of an erudite grouch sings.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
Discovery, is run by numbers grouch David Zaslav, whose primary interest in journalism seems to be his desire to stop its practitioners from saying mean things about him.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2023
Certainly, an uncharismatic grouch who pronounces his own name differently every other day is highly unlikely to do it.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2023
I sure hope the little grouch is worth it.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
I guess the grouches can let a meh day in the team combined or an 11th place in the giant slalom spoil their vibe, but Mikaela Shiffrin is restored as an Olympic champion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Though he became most celebrated for his endearing grouches, Alan Arkin was a versatile performer, equally capable of drama or comedy, with an idiosyncratic knack for combining the two.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
Some portrait sitters come across as stiffs or grouches.
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2020
Indeed, many NFL coaches are cantankerous, routine-obsessed grouches who deprive themselves of everything from sleep to joy.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2019
That same afternoon, as fate willed it, three "wobblies" out of a job came to call; and oh, how tired Peter was of these wandering agitators—insufferable "grouches!"
From 100%: the Story of a Patriot by Sinclair, Upton
We bellyached and we grouched, but really, we did nothing.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2024
It’s even possible that I grouched in the lobby afterward about poets and their ambiguities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2017
“This isn’t fun,” the female crewmember grouched to her male mate.
From Washington Post
Though Michelangelo grouched about his immense Sistine task, there is no question of his mastery of pure fresco, which he had learned in Florence in 1488 from his master Ghirlandaio.
From Time Magazine Archive
He was the sort of man that crouched—and "grouched."
From The Way of the Wild by Rountree, Harry
Beyond all the knowledge and talent, beyond the frequent smiles and occasional grouching, David was a guy who really cared.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
Thereafter, he spent a lot of time grouching about how little time he was being allotted.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 14, 2015
Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Call it grumbling, griping, grizzling, grouching – take your pick.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 20, 2012
Sometimes you need a sane summer vacation to see how habitual our sports grouching has become.
From Washington Post
I meant, we’ve got to take what’s coming to us, without laying down or grouching.
From Into the Primitive by Bennett, Robert Ames
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.
