kvetch

American  

[kvech] / kvɛtʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to complain, especially chronically.

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noun

1. Also kvetcher. a person who kvetches.

kvetch British  

/ kvɛtʃ /

verb

1. slang (intr) to complain or grumble, esp incessantly

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Etymology

Origin of kvetch

1960–65, < Yiddish kvetshn literally, to squeeze, pinch; compare Middle High German, German quetschen

Explanation

To kvetch is to grumble and complain at length. Kids who kvetch for days about never having gone to Disney World are unlikely to convince their parents to take them. When you kvetch, you whine or grumble or bellyache about something. It's an informal way to describe a very annoying activity, and you can also call the complaint itself a kvetch, as well as the person doing the complaining. In fact, this is the original Yiddish meaning, from kvetshn, "squeeze" or "press," which has a German root, quetsche, or "crusher."

Example Sentences

“They signed on to extensive letters and virtue-signaling criticism. They held ‘unhappy hours’ at the building where most of them worked, to kvetch about the changes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

“People, and particularly women, tend to kvetch and converse and complain about what offends them, and then they vote according to what affects them,” she said.

From BBC • Sep. 7, 2024

Resorting to his accustomed modesty, Mr. Kitman, tongue planted firmly in cheek, also soliloquized on his bona fides as a constructive critic rather than a chronic kvetch.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

It’s easy to kvetch about wearing long underwear to watch Little League games or donning a down jacket to work in the garden.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2022

I don’t know what kvetch means, but I think it must be good.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Related Words

• carp
• grumble
• moan
• murmur
• mutter
• nag
• squawk