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

Explanation

If your younger brother is particularly grouchy, he might simply grunt in answer to your question about whose turn it is to take out the garbage. A grunt is a short, deep sound. If you think about the noise a pig makes, you'll have a good idea of what a grunt sounds like. It's an animal-like sound that people make when they're inarticulate, angry, sullen, or lazy — or sometimes if they're hurt or afraid. Pigs and other animals grunt too, no matter what their moods may be. The Old English root word, grunnettan, most likely came from the sound of a grunt.

Example Sentences

He said young professionals should not shy away from doing the grunt work.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

It doesn’t hurt that making stuff is increasingly easy too, thanks to the cameras on our phones and mixing boards on our laptops and artificial intelligence that does the grunt work for us.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026

Another issue is that artificial-intelligence tools have proven capable of handling the grunt work of coding, thereby minimizing the need for low-level workers.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

Edward Kosner’s review called attention to the book’s energetic prose, including Mr. Clarey’s inspired description of Rafa’s signature shot: “The Nadal forehand, with grunt included, was a bellicose thing, designed to make mayhem.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

He makes a grunt that means “go ahead,” and I flop down in the ratty old chair by the ratty old couch and stare at the screen.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

Related Words

• groan