whinge
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
-
to cry in a fretful way
-
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
- whingeing noun
- whinger noun
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.
Clarke-Smith dismissed the complaint as "a bit of a whinge... No-one is pretending to be an MP".
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2025
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
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
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.
