complained; complaining; complains
1
: to express grief, pain, or discontent
complaining about the weather
2
: to make a formal accusation or charge
He threatened to complain of him to the captain.
complainer
noun
Examples of complain in a Sentence
He works hard but he never complains.
If you're unhappy with the service, you should complain to the manager.
The students complained that the test was too hard.
“These shoes are too tight,” he complained.
Recent Examples on the Web
A number of Tesla shareholders, including some Democrats who oversee the investment of public sector pension fund money in Tesla stock, complained in May to Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm that Musk’s other activities are hurting the company.
—
Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 14 July 2025
Essentially, the legislation does away with a process that some have complained can be time-consuming and expensive—at least in some cases.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Trump has complained about the EU's $231 billion trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more goods from European businesses than the other way around.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 July 2025
Once, someone complained about people drinking in the street.
—Theodore Parisienne, New York Daily News, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 14 July 2025
Essentially, the legislation does away with a process that some have complained can be time-consuming and expensive—at least in some cases.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Trump has complained about the EU's $231 billion trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more goods from European businesses than the other way around.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 July 2025
Once, someone complained about people drinking in the street.
—Theodore Parisienne, New York Daily News, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Cite this Entry
“Complain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complain. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
complain
verb
com·plain
kəm-ˈplān 
1
: to express grief, pain, or discontent : find fault
complaining about the weather
2
: to accuse someone of wrongdoing
complainer
noun
Medical Definition
complain
intransitive verb
com·plain
kəm-ˈplān
: to speak of one's illness or symptoms
the patient visited the office complaining of weight loss
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