grunt

[ gruhnt ]

verb (used without object)

1. to utter the deep, guttural sound characteristic of a hog.
2. to utter a similar sound.
3. to grumble, as in discontent.

verb (used with object)

1. to express with a grunt.

noun

1. a sound of grunting.
2. New England Cooking. a dessert, typically of cherries, peaches, or apples sweetened and spiced, and topped with biscuit dough. pandowdy.
3. any food fish of the family Pomadasyidae (Haemulidae), found chiefly in tropical and subtropical seas, that emits grunting sounds.
4. Slang. a soldier, especially an infantryman.
5. Slang. a common or unskilled worker; laborer.

grunt

/ ɡrʌnt /

verb

1. intr (esp of pigs and some other animals) to emit a low short gruff noise
2. when tr, may take a clause as object to express something gruffly

   he grunted his answer

noun

1. the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust
2. any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum ( Spanish grunt ), that utter a grunting sound when caught
3. slang.
   an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War

Derived Forms

• ˈgruntingly, adverb

Other Words From

• grunting·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of grunt¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English grunten, Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian “to grunt”; cognate with German grunzen, Latin grunnīre

Word History and Origins

Origin of grunt¹

Old English grunnettan, probably of imitative origin; compare Old High German grunnizōn, grunni moaning, Latin grunnīre

Example Sentences

"Roseanne" peeled back the veneer around the grunt work of parenting and allowed ongoing problems in the family to stay messy and unresolved.

From Salon

When he wasn’t examining extinct rodent-like skulls in Uruguay, Darwin remarked on “ludicrous” looking capybara making “peculiar” grunts.

From Salon

So it makes sense that, despite all their girth and grunting, shot putters tend to be science geeks.

From Los Angeles Times

She looks that Medicaid doctor right in his very symmetrical face and says through grunts and gritted teeth: “My girl doesn’t like to wait.”

From Los Angeles Times

There certainly was no gliding Wednesday, only banging and grunting and growling and, oh yeah, chugging.

From Los Angeles Times