grumble

verb

grum·​ble ˈgrəm-bəl How to pronounce grumble (audio)
grumbled; grumbling ˈgrəm-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce grumble (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to mutter in discontent
grumbled about the scarcity of jobs
2
: growl, rumble
Thunder grumbled in the distance.

transitive verb

: to express with grumbling
grumbled his annoyance
grumble noun
grumbler noun
grumbly adjective

Examples of grumble in a Sentence

There's been a lot of grumbling among the employees. Some of the customers have been grumbling about poor service. Fans grumbled about the team's poor play. “When are we going to leave?” he grumbled. We could hear thunder grumbling in the distance.
Recent Examples on the Web Fans are grumbling about the state of the program, but that’s not new, either. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 Silver customers have grumbled about the shipping of the coins, saying the cases were unsealed, letting the coins fall out and, in some cases, get scratched. Chris Morris, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 Airlines began varying ticket prices in the 1980s, Shumsky said, noting that customers grumbled about it at first but eventually came to accept it. Joe Hernandez, NPR, 28 Feb. 2024 What’s more, female Gen Zers were 13% more likely than men to grumble that their salaries haven’t kept up with the pace of living. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 Health systems have started grumbling about the effects of Epic’s non-compete restrictions. Seth Joseph, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Parisians are already grumbling about the crowds for this summer’s Olympics. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Trump has long grumbled about the United States' outsize role in NATO and casts President Biden’s support for Ukraine’s struggle to resist Russian invasion as a costly drag on the U.S. taxpayer. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 Although some football fans may grumble about people holding Swift in higher esteem than her boyfriend, the two seem to have no problem cheering one another on. Madeline Holcombe, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grumble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably from Middle French grommeler, ultimately from Middle Dutch grommen; akin to Old High German grimm grim

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grumble was in 1580

Dictionary Entries Near grumble

Cite this Entry

“Grumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grumble. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grumble

verb
grum·​ble ˈgrəm-bəl How to pronounce grumble (audio)
grumbled; grumbling -b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce grumble (audio)
1
: to mutter in discontent
2
grumble noun
grumbler noun
grumblingly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on grumble

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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