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grunt

[ gruhnt ]
/ grʌnt /
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See synonyms for: grunt / grunted / grunts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to express with a grunt.
noun
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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as


Origin of grunt

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

OTHER WORDS FROM grunt

grunt·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grunt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grunt

grunt
/ (ÉĄrʌnt) /

verb
(intr) (esp of pigs and some other animals) to emit a low short gruff noise
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to express something grufflyhe grunted his answer
noun
the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust
any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum (Spanish grunt), that utter a grunting sound when caught
US slang an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War

Derived forms of grunt

gruntingly, adverb

Word Origin for grunt

Old English grunnettan, probably of imitative origin; compare Old High German grunnizƍn, grunni moaning, Latin grunnÄ«re
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
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