grumble

verb

grum·ble | \ ˈgrəm-bəl

grumbled; grumbling\ ˈgrəm-b(ə-)liŋ

Definition of grumble

intransitive verb

1 : to mutter in discontent grumbled about the scarcity of jobs

2 : growl, rumble Thunder grumbled in the distance.

transitive verb

: to express with grumbling grumbled his annoyance

Other Words from grumble Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about grumble

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from grumble

grumble noun

grumbler \ ˈgrəm-b(ə-)lər

\ noun

grumblingly \ ˈgrəm-b(ə-)liŋ-lē

\ adverb

grumbly \ ˈgrəm-b(ə-)lē

\ adjective

Examples of grumble in a Sentence

There's been a lot of grumbling among the employees. Some of the customers have been grumbling about poor service. Fans grumbled about the team's poor play. “When are we going to leave?” he grumbled. We could hear thunder grumbling in the distance.

Recent Examples on the Web

Although orthodox economists grumble about Mr Macri’s gradualism, Argentine investors seem to endorse it. — The Economist, "Argentina’s gamble on economic gradualism is working, so far," 18 Jan. 2018 All car owners must have such gear because of a much-grumbled-at 2008 government mandate meant to ensure the visibility of drivers in distress at roadside. — Pascal-emmanuel Gobry, WSJ, "The Failure of the French Elite," 22 Feb. 2019 That just means lots of office workers are grumbling about it. — Julie Jargon, WSJ, "11 Scoops or 12? Coffee Wars Come to the Office," 9 Oct. 2018 First there was grumbling about how Apex Legends wasn’t Titanfall 3. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: The film Groundhog Day gets a VR sequel, Creative Assembly teases a new shooter," 8 Feb. 2019 Back at Nissan, grumbling about Mr. Ghosn’s management grew. — Patricia Kowsmann, WSJ, "The Fall of the House of Ghosn," 16 Dec. 2018 Democrats, newly empowered with their House majority, have been grumbling about USMCA’s environmental protections and whether or not the deal does enough to protect American workers. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "US, Canada, Mexico sign NAFTA replacement at G20," 30 Nov. 2018 The overall result, bosses grumble, is that American firms are puny in China, making 4% of their global sales there. — The Economist, "America Inc and the rage against Beijing," 28 June 2018 Trump — who has long pitched himself as a master dealmaker — feels the agreement represents a radical step toward solving an intractable foreign policy problem and has been publicly and privately grumbling that not everyone agrees. — Zeke Miller And Catherine Lucey, chicagotribune.com, "Trump searches for credit on North Korea nuclear deal," 16 June 2018

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