grouse
1 Americannoun
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any of numerous gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae.
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British. the red grouse.
verb (used without object)
noun
adjective
verb
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grousesimple
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grousessimple
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have grousedperfect
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has grousedperfect
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am grousingprogressive
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are grousingprogressive
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is grousingprogressive
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have been grousingperfect progressive
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has been grousingperfect progressive
Past
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grousedsimple
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had grousedperfect
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was grousingprogressive
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were grousingprogressive
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had been grousingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grouse1
First recorded in 1525–35; origin uncertain
Origin of grouse2
First recorded in 1885–1900; originally British army slang; further origin uncertain; see also grouch
Origin of grouse3
First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Explanation
A grouse is a plump little bird. Don’t like birds? You can grouse, or complain, about them. The word grouse means both, but a grouse wouldn’t grouse because birds don’t whine. The word grouse has been around since the 1500s, referring to a ground-dwelling game bird with feathery feet and legs. It’s a bird, so people hunt it, which is maybe how grouse came to mean “to complain” a few hundred years later. You might grouse about the amount of homework your social studies teacher assigns or about the terrible weather or about the high price of gas. People will grouse about pretty much anything!
Vocabulary lists containing grouse
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Maniac Magee
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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.
Birds including the curlew, nightjar, dipper, lesser black-backed gull and red grouse are also named.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Even when we grouse about our jobs, by the water cooler and over Slack, the complaint is rarely about working hard.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
There was nothing I could grouse about, and I simply admired a good game played.
From Salon • Oct. 29, 2025
What’s the point of working so hard at this if I’m not honored? he might grouse.
From Slate • Oct. 10, 2025
The grouse grew up and most of them went back to the wild.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
