gripe

verb \ ˈgrīp \

Definition of gripe

griped; griping

transitive verb

1 archaic :seize, grasp

2 a :afflict, distress

b :irritate, vex

griped by the new regulations

3 :to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of

intransitive verb

1 :to experience gripes

2 :to complain with grumbling

Students griped about having too much homework.

—

griper

noun

See gripe defined for English-language learners

See gripe defined for kids

Examples of gripe in a Sentence

All of the workers were griping about the new regulations.
The students griped that they had too much homework.

Recent Examples of gripe from the Web

The First Amendment guarantees not only free speech, but also press freedom, religious freedom, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to gripe about the government.

— stu bykofsky, Philly.com, "City protest directive surrenders to Asa Khalif," 28 Aug. 2017
Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

— josef federman, The Christian Science Monitor, "Kushner kicks off renewed push by Trump administration to restart Middle East peace talks," 25 Aug. 2017
Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

— josef federman, The Christian Science Monitor, "Kushner kicks off renewed push by Trump administration to restart Middle East peace talks," 25 Aug. 2017
Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

— josef federman, chicagotribune.com, "White House envoy Jared Kushner begins Mideast peace push," 24 Aug. 2017
Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump’s team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

— mohammed daraghmeh, USA TODAY, "Kushner’s Mideast peace push met with Palestinian skepticism," 24 Aug. 2017
Oftentimes, people would gripe about the hours, the long days.

— kristine phillips, Washington Post, "Parolee’s anger at police may have led to shooting," 5 July 2017
But despite his album-accessing issues, Ronson apparently somehow managed to get a listen of 4:44, and suddenly his frustration turned to adoration for JAY-Z. Tidal gripe aside.

— tatiana cirisano, Billboard, "Mark Ronson Angered Over JAY-Z's Exclusive-to-Tidal '4:44' Album Release," 30 June 2017
LSU players also did not gripe about the lack of replay ability on that play.

— christopher dabe, NOLA.com, "LSU's Josh Smith says he was safe 'but the umpire thought differently'," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gripe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gripe

Middle English, from Old English grīpan; akin to Old High German grīfan to grasp, Lithuanian griebti

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

gripe Synonyms

Synonyms

aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, irritate, hack (off), irk, itch, nark [British], nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, spite, vex

Antonyms

crow, delight, rejoice

Related Words

hassle, heckle; nag; inflame (also enflame), provoke, rouse; badger, bait, bullyrag (also ballyrag), devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease; anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil; agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry; affront, insult, miff, offend, outrage

Near Antonyms

appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate; delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe

gripe

noun

Definition of gripe

1 archaic :clutch, grasp; broadly :control, mastery

2 :a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain —usually used in plural

3 :grievance, complaint

Her main gripe was his utter lack of ambition.

Examples of gripe in a Sentence

I would rather not listen to gripes about your latest disasters in the dating game.

Recent Examples of gripe from the Web

After Sunday's season 7 finale on HBO, there's little need to list the gripes of its 16 million viewers, except to boil down the biggest criticism, which have to do with pace.

— hank stuever, chicagotribune.com, "While you were watching summer's biggest TV show, you missed summer's best TV show," 30 Aug. 2017
Aside from a few gripes about Pratt being late to a date or two, Faris writes purely about her husband’s selfless qualities and how his presence grounded her and her insecurities.

— ew staff, EW.com, "Anna Faris' upcoming book is a powerful ode to Chris Pratt: 6 things we learned," 8 Aug. 2017
Why is there a whole new-ish category of denim that solves legit wardrobe gripes but that even I, a fashion writer and denim enthusiast, had never heard of until last year?

— leeann duggan, Glamour, "'Corset Jeans' Are the Best Thing You've Never Heard Of," 1 Aug. 2017
IN THE litany of bosses’ gripes about Brazil’s inclement business climate, rigid labour laws vie for pride of place with its convoluted tax laws and its licensing rules (on everything from health and safety to protection of cultural heritage).

— The Economist, "Bye-bye, BenitoAn overhaul of Brazilian labour law should spur job creation," 20 July 2017
Small-item storage is an ongoing gripe, and more than one editor finds the ambient interior lighting too bright with the IP fully dimmed.

— josh jacquot, Car and Driver, "2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS," 19 July 2017
Darabont certainly has some legitimate-sounding gripes.

— scott meslow, GQ, "The Big Walking Dead Lawsuit Makes Both Sides Look Terrible," 13 July 2017
Toomes has a legitimate gripe — Iron Man destroys buildings, then Stark Enterprises gets a sweetheart contract to clean up the mess.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'Spider-Man: Homecoming:' a polished reboot," 5 July 2017
Still, Montero broke etiquette by going public with his gripes.

— ronald blum, The Seattle Times, "Now with Blue Jays, Montero wants to put Cubs parting behind," 4 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of gripe

see ¹gripe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

gripe Synonyms

Synonyms

beef, bitch, bleat, carp, fuss, grievance, complaint, grouch, grouse, grumble, holler, kvetch, lament, miserere, moan, murmur, plaint, squawk, wail, whimper, whine, whinge [British], yammer

Related Words

challenge, demur, expostulation, kick, niggle [chiefly British], objection, protest, quibble, remonstrance, stink

Near Antonyms

commendation, compliment, plaudit; acclaim, applause, praise; approval, endorsement (also indorsement), sanction

GRIPE Defined for English Language Learners

gripe

verb

Definition of gripe for English Language Learners

: to complain about something

GRIPE Defined for Kids

gripe

verb \ ˈgrīp \

Definition of gripe for Students

griped; griping

:complain

gripe

noun

Definition of gripe for Students

:complaint 1

Medical Dictionary

gripe

verb \ ˈgrīp \

medical Definition of gripe

griped; griping

transitive verb

:to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of

intransitive verb

:to experience gripes

gripe

noun

medical Definition of gripe

:a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain —usually used in plural

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