grunt

American  

[gruhnt] / grʌnt /

verb (used without object)

1. to utter the deep, guttural sound characteristic of a hog.

2. to utter a similar sound.

3. to grumble, as in discontent.

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verb (used with object)

1. to express with a grunt.

noun

1. a sound of grunting.

2. New England Cooking. a dessert, typically of cherries, peaches, or apples sweetened and spiced, and topped with biscuit dough.

3. any food fish of the family Pomadasyidae (Haemulidae), found chiefly in tropical and subtropical seas, that emits grunting sounds.

4. Slang. a soldier, especially an infantryman.

5. Slang. a common or unskilled worker; laborer.

grunt British  

/ ɡrʌnt /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of pigs and some other animals) to emit a low short gruff noise

2. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to express something gruffly

   he grunted his answer

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noun

1. the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust

2. any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum ( Spanish grunt ), that utter a grunting sound when caught

3. slang an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War

Other Word Forms

• gruntingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of grunt

First recorded before 900; Middle English grunten, Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian “to grunt”; cognate with German grunzen, Latin grunnīre

Example Sentences

Duane grunted and moaned, and just when he thought he was making some progress in digging his cave, he came up against a sturdy wall of snow buried within the snow.

From Literature

All around me the bottoms came to life with noises I had never heard before; grunts and squeals, barks and cries, and everything else.

From Literature

He grunted and swatted his stubby hands at me, but once I said I had a message for him to deliver, he clapped his hands and smiled, showing tiny yellow teeth.

From Literature

Sometimes for a whole day they talked in sea lion grunts or frigate bird squawks or plankton wiggles.

From Literature

There’s also the lure of additional income—cycling has a global reach, and while it is hardly a lucrative job for the grunt rouleur, the biggest names can make millions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• groan