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

That according to no less an evaluator than defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, who is notoriously hard to please and grumbled about plenty after a 30-7 win over Kent State. — Jeff Metcalfe, azcentral, "ASU defense loses shutout but benefits from new punting star Michael Turk," 30 Aug. 2019 That doesn’t mean Max doesn’t grumble at times during the HBO series. — Chuck Barney, The Mercury News, "‘Hard Knocks’: Series has extra meaning for ex-Raider’s son," 26 Aug. 2019 The change left many agents grumbling that the Border Patrol had gone soft. — A.c. Thompson, ProPublica, "“Dirtbag,” “Savages,” “Subhuman”: A Border Agent’s Hateful Career and the Crime That Finally Ended It," 16 Aug. 2019 At Nissan, where many Japanese employees grumble that foreigners are promoted faster and paid better, some talk darkly of an attempt by old-timers to return the company to its roots and eject foreigners. — Nick Kostov, WSJ, "‘I Found This Very, Very Violent.’ Carlos Ghosn’s Arrest Tests Nissan-Renault Relationship," 22 Nov. 2018 Prince’s grumbling supposition of anger and blame expressed the last days of the Obama era, when facts of black demoralization were left unaddressed. — Armond White, National Review, "The Baltimore Culture Wars: A History," 31 July 2019 With the plastic canopy cinched down and the LT-5 grumbling at idle, the Corvette Indy feels more like a fighter plane than a car, pretty much what its designers had in mind. — Tony Swan, Popular Mechanics, "A Closer Look at Chevy's Mid-Engine Corvette...From 1988?," 19 July 2019 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

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.