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

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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

Conservatives and budget hawks immediately grumbled about new spending and the elimination of the 2011 caps known as sequestration, an effort to limit federal spending. — Los Angeles Times, "In forging a budget deal, Pelosi found a Trump official she can work with," 2 Aug. 2019 Mr Rosselló might also have found ways to assuage voters who grumbled that his government presided over nepotism and corruption. — A.r. | Chicago, The Economist, "The resignation of Ricardo Rosselló," 25 July 2019 Intel suffered through a similar situation during its Coffee Lake launch—supplies were short, and customers grumbled. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "AMD Ryzen 3900X hits $740 on eBay as AMD struggles to deliver its flagship chip," 24 July 2019 Mining jobs became scarcer; many residents grumble that the current plant owners, Nirma Ltd., are based in India and don’t care about their well-being like previous bosses did. — Gustavo Arellano, latimes.com, "Massive earthquakes cracked the very foundations of the tiny but tough town of Trona," 8 July 2019 Regulars welcome the chance to grumble about the uncaring servers, the so-so club sandwiches and the crumbs on the floor at that Jim’s a few miles away. — Greg Jefferson, ExpressNews.com, "Pondering what makes Jim’s Jim’s," 4 July 2019 Some New Yorkers, like Jerry Holste, 70, have been grumbling about the influx of visitors. — New York Times, "At WorldPride in N.Y., Millions Are Expected to Celebrate and, for Some, Come Out," 26 June 2019 Traditional label executives, on the other hand, tend to grumble about label services firms. — Steven Zeitchik, Washington Post, "How Bruce Hornsby’s new album suggests everything that’s wrong — and right — with the modern music business," 15 June 2019 The pressure ahead of such a critical election is palpable, and there's already been grumbling about the running order of the debate. — Lorraine Ali, chicagotribune.com, "Why reality TV has nothing on the Democratic debates," 23 June 2019

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.