Link Centre Dictionary

groan

UK/ˈɡɹəʊ̯n/ US/ˈɡɹɵ̞ʊ̯n/ fairly common
verb (1) noun (1)

verb

1.

indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure

  • “The students groaned when the professor got out the exam booklets”
  • “The ancient door soughed when opened”
Synonyms

noun

1.

an utterance expressing pain or disapproval

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English gronen, granen, from Old English grānian (“to groan; lament; murmur”), from Proto-West Germanic *grainōn, from Proto-Germanic *grainōną (“to howl; weep”), from Proto-Germanic *grīnaną (“to whine; howl; whimper”). Cognate with Scots grain (“to cry, scream”), Dutch grijnen, grienen (“to cry; sob; blubber”), German Low German grienen (“to whimper; mewl”), German greinen (“to whine; whimper”), Swedish grina (“to howl; weep; laugh”). The noun is from Middle English gron, grone, from the verb.

Phrases

  • groan tube Derived from noun or verb

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.