whinge
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
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to cry in a fretful way
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to complain
noun
Usage
What does whinge mean? Whinge means to complain or whine. Whinge is primarily used in the U. K. and Australia. Like whine, whinge can mean to make a whining noise (often as part of complaining), or to complain with such a tone, or simply to complain in a way that’s considered annoying. When you say that someone’s whinging, you’re criticizing them because they’re complaining in an annoying way, especially about something minor. Whinge can also be used as a noun referring to a complaint, but this use is much less common than its verb sense. The variant spelling winge is primarily used in Australia. Example: John’s mother told him not to whinge about having to spend time with his relatives.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whingesimple
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whingessimple
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have whingedperfect
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has whingedperfect
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am whingeingprogressive
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am whingingprogressive
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are whingeingprogressive
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are whingingprogressive
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is whingeingprogressive
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is whingingprogressive
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have been whingeingperfect progressive
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have been whingingperfect progressive
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has been whingeingperfect progressive
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has been whingingperfect progressive
Past
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whingedsimple
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had whingedperfect
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was whingeingprogressive
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was whingingprogressive
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were whingeingprogressive
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were whingingprogressive
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had been whingeingperfect progressive
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had been whingingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whinge
First recorded before 1150; dialectal Scots, North England, earlier Scots quhynge, Old English hwinsian (not recorded in Middle English ); cognate with Old High German winsōn ( German winseln ); derivative of Germanic base of whine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
You will whinge to the school and demand meetings and they will say they hear your concern and nothing will happen,’ ” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Normally a lead at the Masters with two holes to play would be cause to whinge about why Augusta National doesn’t attach airsickness bags to the pines, but here the nervous system could lounge.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2022
It can be physically unsettling as we begin to move and our heart rates and breathing quicken and muscles start to whinge.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2021
Anyway I’m just clutching at straws to whinge about in the face of yesterday’s batting fiasco.”
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2019
Self-conscious writers are also apt to whinge about how what they’re about to do is so terribly difficult and complicated and controversial: What are intractable conflicts?
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
He added: "With some of the comments that have been made, we're now in danger of looking like a sport that whinges when it loses, and that's not the sport I recognise."
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2021
“She’s always sad, she whinges all the time, she doesn’t stop crying. Why are we compelled?”
From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2018
“Everyone wrings their hands and whinges out about young girls, but we can’t get into schools,” Venter says.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 9, 2018
Australia have never been a team that whinges," he continued, prompting Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne to shout: "Fair go, Lucas!
From The Guardian ● Jun. 23, 2010
“Sixteen fifty?” whinges the old guy in his suit.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Some of his players will have to change in the corridor, Galthie whinged.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Certain visitors whined, whinged and wept, especially as they approached the exit.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
As they whinged, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund started buying up Xstrata shares, eventually soaking up a 12% stake that everyone assumed would be voted in favour of the deal.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 30, 2012
During happier days in 2006 and 2007, corporate Britain whinged relentlessly about a skills shortage.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 23, 2010
I whinged that it didn't smell of anything, but she pointed out I wasn't the one who had to hoover and unpick the needles from the carpet.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
"It was a bit embarrassing because it wasn't cool music, and I was also like whingeing about this girl or whatever. So, I wasn't really wanting to show people."
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2025
“Of course things go wrong. If this was easy, someone else out would do it, so stop whingeing and carry on,” he said, using a British term for whining.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2019
The crowd, so often a whingeing, mardy, doom‑laden presence on nights like these, rose to their feet and punched the air and roared their team on.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 4, 2018
It would be whingeing to say that men who are no better than I are very much more famous and very much richer and also regarded as . . . the right stuff.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 5, 2017
Once in a while, when there’s an argument, people laugh and call out to us about who’s cheating, who’s winning, and who’s whingeing.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Possibly that’s because New Yorkers already do such a bang-up job of whinging about their own city that they don’t need an assist from professional comedians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
A universal principle of politics is that whinging is not an effective substitute for organization.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2022
Afterwards, one Real Sociedad-supporting columnist called Athletic “primitive”, insisting “there is no team that obtains more with less”, whinging: “How boring!”
From The Guardian ● Sep. 2, 2019
All the whinging about the toxic social media landscape is due to the belief that Twitter is actual communication, rather than a useless platform that delivers zingers, not argument or well-thought out ideas.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2017
“It wouldn’t hurt to say ‘Good morning’ before you start whinging, Elizabeth,” she scolds.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
