groaned; groaning; groans
1
: to utter a deep moan indicative of pain, grief, or annoyance
groaned when she saw the bill
2
: to make a harsh sound (as of creaking) under sudden or prolonged strain
The chair groaned under his weight.
: to utter or express with groaning
groaned their despair
groan
noun
Examples of groan in a Sentence
The wounded man groaned in pain.
She groaned when she saw the bill.
“Oh, no,” she groaned, “I'm going to have to start all over.”
She groaned that she would have to start all over.
Merchants are groaning over slow holiday sales.
He's always moaning and groaning about his salary.
The chair groaned under his weight.
Recent Examples on the Web
The reaction scene plays out not with churning pathos but instead like TikToks of people watching Ned Stark meet his surprising fate or videos of fans in a sports bar groaning in unison.
—
Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Tons of twisting steel groaned and then hit the ground with a resounding boom, which echoed across Sparrows Point and sent up a cloud of dust.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
Baby Blue could be heard groaning and crying on the song.
—USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024
The admission will come as a relief to those who groaned through Jo Koy’s quip about the pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end at the Golden Globes in January, which elicited awkward silence and a cold reaction from Swift, who was in the audience that night.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024
Science is most useful when coupled with relatable guidance, which is probably why people love to hear that the puberty scholars are on the receiving end of glares and groans just like everyone else.
—Vanessa Kroll Bennett, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024
Your body, which oozed and groaned under the yoke of illness, is now a perfectly humming machine.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024
Later, Theo heard the pipes groaning as Jane ran her bath.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
In a video taken of the event, the pilot can see seen and heard sharing the news with the crew and passengers — news that was met with an abundance of groaning and expletives.
—Sydney Borchers, Fox News, 18 Oct. 2023
Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Tons of twisting steel groaned and then hit the ground with a resounding boom, which echoed across Sparrows Point and sent up a cloud of dust.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
Baby Blue could be heard groaning and crying on the song.
—USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024
The admission will come as a relief to those who groaned through Jo Koy’s quip about the pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end at the Golden Globes in January, which elicited awkward silence and a cold reaction from Swift, who was in the audience that night.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024
Science is most useful when coupled with relatable guidance, which is probably why people love to hear that the puberty scholars are on the receiving end of glares and groans just like everyone else.
—Vanessa Kroll Bennett, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024
Your body, which oozed and groaned under the yoke of illness, is now a perfectly humming machine.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024
Later, Theo heard the pipes groaning as Jane ran her bath.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
In a video taken of the event, the pilot can see seen and heard sharing the news with the crew and passengers — news that was met with an abundance of groaning and expletives.
—Sydney Borchers, Fox News, 18 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'groan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near groan
Cite this Entry
“Groan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groan. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
groan
verb1
: to utter a deep moan of pain, grief, or irritation
2
: to make a harsh sound under strain
the chair groaned under my weight
groan
noun
groaner
noun
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