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.
The likes of Ellis Genge might whinge and moan about former pros not understanding what it takes, but unfortunately they do because they have been successful in the past and won trophies.
From BBC
Clarke-Smith dismissed the complaint as "a bit of a whinge... No-one is pretending to be an MP".
From BBC
"This is not a whinge, it's not about me, it's more for other people. Not everybody has got a conventional CV which sees you working up the management ladder."
From BBC
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
"She is resilient, she was brought up with this extraordinary sense of duty where you got on with it, don't whinge, put your best face on and keep going, and it has stood her in very good stead," Fiona Shelburne, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, a close confidante of Camilla, now 75, told the Sunday Times last month.
From Reuters
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.