gripe

 
Pronunciation: /grʌɪp/

verb

  • 1 [no object] informal complain about something in a persistent, irritating way: it’s no use griping about your boss or your pay [with direct speech]: ‘Holidays make no difference to Simon,’ Pat griped
  • 2 [with object] (usually as adjective griping) affect with gastric or intestinal pain: spasmodic griping pains
  • 3 [with object] archaic grasp tightly; clutch: Hilyard griped his dagger
  • 4 [with object] Nautical secure (a boat) with gripes.
  • 5 [no object] Sailing (of a ship) turn to face the wind despite the efforts of the helmsman.

noun

  • 1 informal a minor complaint: my only gripe is the size of the page numbers
  • 2 [mass noun] gastric or intestinal pain; colic: seeing your tiny baby suffering with wind and gripe
  • 3 archaic an act of grasping something tightly: he seized me by the arms with a rude gripe
  • 4 (gripes) Nautical lashings securing a boat in its place on deck or in davits.

Derivatives

griper

noun

Origin:

Old English grīpan 'grasp, clutch', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch grijpen, German greifen 'seize', also to grip and grope. gripe (sense 2 of the verb) dates from the 17th century; gripe (sense 1 of the verb), of US origin, dates from the 1930s