Link Centre Dictionary

grumble

UK/ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/ US/ˈɡɹʊmbəl/ uncommon
verb (4) noun (2)

verb

1.

show one''s unhappiness or critical attitude

  • “He scolded about anything that he thought was wrong”
  • “We grumbled about the increased work load”
Synonyms
2.

make complaining remarks or noises under one''s breath

  • “she grumbles when she feels overworked”
Synonyms
3.

to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds

  • “he grumbled a rude response”
  • “Stones grumbled down the cliff”
Synonyms
4.

make a low noise

  • “rumbling thunder”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a loud low dull continuous noise

  • “they heard the rumbling of thunder”
Synonyms
2.

Origin

Probably from Middle French grommeler, from Old French grumeler (“to murmur, grumble”), from Middle Dutch *grommelen ("to murmur, mutter, grunt"; > Modern Dutch grommelen (“to grumble”)), frequentative of Middle Dutch grommen (“to growl, grunt”). Cognate with Middle Low German grummelen (> Low German grummeln (“to grumble”)), German grummeln (“to grumble”), Norwegian dialectal grymja (“to growl, grunt”).

Phrases

  • mustn't grumble

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.