grunge

American  

[gruhnj] / grʌndʒ /

noun

Slang.

1. dirt; filth; rubbish.

2. something of inferior quality; trash.

   He didn't know good music from grunge.

3. a person who works hard, usually for meager rewards; grind.

4. a style or fashion derived from a movement in rock music: in fashion characterized by unkempt clothing and in music by aggressive, nihilistic songs.

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grunge British  

/ ɡrʌndʒ /

noun

1. slang dirt or rubbish

2. a style of rock music originating in the US in the late 1980s, featuring a distorted guitar sound

3. a deliberately untidy and uncoordinated fashion style

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Etymology

Origin of grunge

1960–65; expressive coinage, perhaps reflecting grime and sludge; sense “grind” perhaps by association with drudge

Example Sentences

And while it didn’t exactly fly off the shelves, its concurrence with the height of the Seattle grunge music scene made the disheveled aesthetic a street-style must-have.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

The grunge collection may have helped define the era’s style and, in later years, proven Jacobs’ visionary status.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

He did a poorly received grunge collection that incoherently tried to marry haute couture with thrift-store shabbiness, and was fired for it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

A signature development—and a true detail—is that Eddie Vedder actually asked them to perform as an opener for his grunge band Pearl Jam, which was as cool as anything could be at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

Feigning shame, I showed it to some hard grunge types, to their even harder women, to red-faced professionals.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• filth
• grease
• grime
• soil
• stain