griped; griping
1
: to complain with grumbling
Students griped about having too much homework.
2
: to experience gripes
2
: to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of
griper
noun
Synonyms
Examples of gripe in a Sentence
Verb
All of the workers were griping about the new regulations.
The students griped that they had too much homework.
Noun
I would rather not listen to gripes about your latest disasters in the dating game.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 26 Sep. 2023
The saying dismisses hand-wringers and armchair critics who gripe while others do the hard work.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2023
Wright never griped to the producers about Ginny’s role being reduced in the translation from book to screen.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 30 Aug. 2023
While there was plenty to be happy about following Saturday’s win, the film showed a few things worth griping about.
—Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 4 Sep. 2023
Musk has griped about Threads’ privacy permissions, challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight, and threatened to sue Meta for poaching ex-Twitter employees and stealing trade secrets.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 20 July 2023
Gabbert is not particularly impressed with these meandering, griping poems aimed at the College of Psychologists of Ontario and an airline, respectively, even if Peterson now and then stumbles into a promising phrase.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2023
Aaron Baer, a leader with Protect Women Ohio, alluded to the new ad campaign during an on-air interview Thursday with Bob Frantz, a Cleveland conservative talk radio host who has been griping about the lack of pro-Issue 1 ads.
—cleveland, 14 July 2023
Neither do any of the Alabama politicians griping on Twitter or the Colorado officials griping for years and now cheering the possible reversal.
—Kyle Whitmire | Kwhitmire@al.com, al, 17 May 2023
Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2023
Our only gripe is the handle, which is rather narrow and hard, and isn’t the easiest to grip when wet or for those with smaller hands.
—Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 29 Sep. 2023
The gripes have spread across Apple online forums and social media networks, including Reddit and X. Customers say that the back or side of the phone becomes hot to the touch while gaming or when conducting a phone call or FaceTime video chat.
—Mark Gurman, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2023
My only gripe—aside from the high price tag—is its short battery life.
—Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 12 July 2023
This one was a gripe of fans throughout last season.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023
Our only gripe with this option is the relatively low 250 pound weight capacity which may not be enough for many survival situations.
—Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2023
My main gripe is the windscreen, which is not the best.
—Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 30 Aug. 2023
Awkward encounters in public have become a gripe Adesanya has with his inescapable celebrity status.
—Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2023
See More
Verb
On Reddit, where gripes about too many bananas abound, one particularly helpful thread is entirely dedicated to how to use excess bananas ordered online.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 26 Sep. 2023
The saying dismisses hand-wringers and armchair critics who gripe while others do the hard work.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2023
Wright never griped to the producers about Ginny’s role being reduced in the translation from book to screen.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 30 Aug. 2023
While there was plenty to be happy about following Saturday’s win, the film showed a few things worth griping about.
—Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 4 Sep. 2023
Musk has griped about Threads’ privacy permissions, challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight, and threatened to sue Meta for poaching ex-Twitter employees and stealing trade secrets.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 20 July 2023
Gabbert is not particularly impressed with these meandering, griping poems aimed at the College of Psychologists of Ontario and an airline, respectively, even if Peterson now and then stumbles into a promising phrase.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2023
Aaron Baer, a leader with Protect Women Ohio, alluded to the new ad campaign during an on-air interview Thursday with Bob Frantz, a Cleveland conservative talk radio host who has been griping about the lack of pro-Issue 1 ads.
—cleveland, 14 July 2023
Neither do any of the Alabama politicians griping on Twitter or the Colorado officials griping for years and now cheering the possible reversal.
—Kyle Whitmire | Kwhitmire@al.com, al, 17 May 2023
Noun
Guadalupe Gonzales, who attended Trump’s speech at the Anaheim convention Friday, said his gripes about how the state has handled drought, wildfires, crime and immigration resonated with her own beliefs.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2023
Our only gripe is the handle, which is rather narrow and hard, and isn’t the easiest to grip when wet or for those with smaller hands.
—Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 29 Sep. 2023
The gripes have spread across Apple online forums and social media networks, including Reddit and X. Customers say that the back or side of the phone becomes hot to the touch while gaming or when conducting a phone call or FaceTime video chat.
—Mark Gurman, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2023
My only gripe—aside from the high price tag—is its short battery life.
—Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 12 July 2023
This one was a gripe of fans throughout last season.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023
Our only gripe with this option is the relatively low 250 pound weight capacity which may not be enough for many survival situations.
—Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2023
My main gripe is the windscreen, which is not the best.
—Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 30 Aug. 2023
Awkward encounters in public have become a gripe Adesanya has with his inescapable celebrity status.
—Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gripe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Old English grīpan; akin to Old High German grīfan to grasp, Lithuanian griebti
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Time Traveler
The first known use of gripe was
before the 12th century
Dictionary Entries Near gripe
Cite this Entry
“Gripe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gripe. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
gripe
1 of 2 verb
griped; griping
1
archaic
: to seize firmly : grip
2
b
: irritate sense 1, vex
laziness gripes our teacher
3
: to cause or experience spasms of pain in the intestines
4
griper
noun
gripe
2 of 2 noun2
3
: a spasm of pain in the intestines
Medical Definition
gripe
1 of 2 verb
griped; griping
: to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of
: to experience gripes
gripe
2 of 2 noun
: a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain
—usually used in plural
More from Merriam-Webster on gripe
Nglish: Translation of gripe for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of gripe for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share