grunt
Americanverb (used without object)
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to utter the deep, guttural sound characteristic of a hog.
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to utter a similar sound.
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to grumble, as in discontent.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a sound of grunting.
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New England Cooking. a dessert, typically of cherries, peaches, or apples sweetened and spiced, and topped with biscuit dough.
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any food fish of the family Pomadasyidae (Haemulidae), found chiefly in tropical and subtropical seas, that emits grunting sounds.
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Slang. a soldier, especially an infantryman.
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Slang. a common or unskilled worker; laborer.
verb
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(intr) (esp of pigs and some other animals) to emit a low short gruff noise
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to express something gruffly
he grunted his answer
noun
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the characteristic low short gruff noise of pigs, etc, or a similar sound, as of disgust
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any of various mainly tropical marine sciaenid fishes, such as Haemulon macrostomum ( Spanish grunt ), that utter a grunting sound when caught
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slang an infantry soldier or US Marine, esp in the Vietnam War
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has gruntedperfect 3rd person singular
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have gruntedperfect
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are gruntingprogressive
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am gruntingprogressive 1st person singular
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gruntingparticiple
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has been gruntingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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gruntssingular 3rd person
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is gruntingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been gruntingperfect progressive
Past
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had gruntedperfect
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had been gruntingperfect progressive
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was gruntingprogressive singular
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gruntedparticiple
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were gruntingprogressive plural
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gruntedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of grunt
First recorded before 900; Middle English grunten, Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian “to grunt”; cognate with German grunzen, Latin grunnīre
Explanation
If your younger brother is particularly grouchy, he might simply grunt in answer to your question about whose turn it is to take out the garbage. A grunt is a short, deep sound. If you think about the noise a pig makes, you'll have a good idea of what a grunt sounds like. It's an animal-like sound that people make when they're inarticulate, angry, sullen, or lazy — or sometimes if they're hurt or afraid. Pigs and other animals grunt too, no matter what their moods may be. The Old English root word, grunnettan, most likely came from the sound of a grunt.
Vocabulary lists containing grunt
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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Shiloh
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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.
You cannot take the pain out of writing, but you can lessen some of the grunt work and redirect your energy, and despair, elsewhere.
From Slate • May 24, 2026
He said young professionals should not shy away from doing the grunt work.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026
Aryna Sabalenka was called for hindrance for a change in her grunt during her Australian Open semi-final against Elina Svitolina in January.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
The topic is the biggest flex—and source of stress—in Silicon Valley, where tech pros and amateurs are competing to see how much of their grunt work they can outsource to AI without things backfiring spectacularly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
With a grunt, he stepped aside and allowed us to pass through the open door.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
