growl

[ groul ]

/ graʊl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR growl ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to utter a deep guttural sound of anger or hostility: The dog growled at the mail carrier.

to murmur or complain angrily; grumble.

to rumble: The thunder growled.

Jazz. to use flutter-tonguing in playing a wind instrument.

verb (used with object)

to express by growling.

noun

the act or sound of growling.

Jazz. the technique of flutter-tonguing.

Nearby words

growing degree-day, growing pains, growing point, growing-equity mortgage, growingly, growl, growler, growly, grown, grown-up, grownup

Origin of growl

1350–1400; Middle English groule to rumble (said of the bowels); cognate with German grollen

Related formsgrowl·ing·ly, adverbun·der·growl, nounun·growl·ing, adjective

Synonym study

2. See complain.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for growl

Students moan and growl and shriek and yawp, as if exorcising demons in a ritualistic ceremony.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She smiles, which sounds like a small thing, but a lot of Republicans growl.
With Ernst and Gardner, Republicans Think They’ve Found the Formula|Eleanor Clift|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When she moves in toward him, he turns his back with a growl.
Stacks: Hitting the Note with the Allman Brothers Band|Grover Lewis|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“A growl and a shake,” the attorney, Jasper Monti, tells The Daily Beast.
Woman Bites Her Dog, Illinois Police Say, Charging Analise Garner With the Assault|Michael Daly|May 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST

A growl like an animal's came from Brydon, and he clinched the other's shoulder.
Romany of the Snows|Gilbert Parker
He found the water hole frozen and was chopping it out when the dog began to growl uneasily.
South from Hudson Bay|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill
The growl is in fact no other than the humming note of bull-roarers swung by men, who are concealed within the edifice.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3)|Sir James George Frazer
All he could do was stand on the bell-deck and gape after me like the rest and growl.
Careers of Danger and Daring|Cleveland Moffett
“I thowt you was a parson,” said the young workman at last, in a growl a trifle less surly.
The Parson O' Dumford|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for growl

growl

/ (ɡraʊl) /

verb

(of animals, esp when hostile) to utter (sounds) in a low inarticulate mannerthe dog growled at us

to utter (words) in a gruff or angry mannerhe growled an apology

(intr) to make sounds suggestive of an animal growlingthe thunder growled around the lake

noun

the act or sound of growling

jazz an effect resembling a growl, produced at the back of the throat when playing a wind instrument

Derived Formsgrowlingly, adverb

Word Origin for growl

C18: from earlier grolle, from Old French grouller to grumble

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for growl

growl

1660s, from Middle English grollen "to rumble, growl" (early 15c.), from Old French grouler "to rumble," said to be from Frankish; probably ultimately of imitative origin. Related: Growled; growling. The noun is 1727, from the verb.

growl

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of growl

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for growl

British Dictionary definitions for growl

growl

verb

noun

Word Origin for growl

Word Origin and History for growl

growl