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grumble

Syllabification: (grum·ble)
Pronunciation: /ˈgrəmbəl/

Translate grumble | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of grumble

verb

[reporting verb]
  • complain or protest about something in a bad-tempered but typically muted way: [with clause]:his father was grumbling that he hadn’t heard a word from him [with object]:he grumbled something about the decision being unnecessary
  • [no object] make a low rumbling sound:thunder was grumbling somewhere in the distance
  • [no object] (of an internal organ) give intermittent discomfort:your stomach is grumbling

noun

  • a complaint:the main grumble is that he spends too much time away
  • a low rumbling sound.

Derivatives

grumbler

Pronunciation: /-blər/

noun

grumblingly

Pronunciation: /-bliNGlē/

adverb

grumbly

Pronunciation: /-blē/

adjective

Origin:

late 16th century: from obsolete grumme (probably of Germanic origin and related to Dutch grommen) + -le4

grumble in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of grumble in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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