grumble

verb

grum·​ble ˈgrəm-bəl 

grumbled; grumbling ˈgrəm-b(ə-)liŋ 

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

grumble noun

grumbler

ˈgrəm-b(ə-)lər 

noun

grumbly

ˈgrəm-b(ə-)lē 

adjective

Synonyms

• complain
• scream
• whine
• moan

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

And Paleo Dad grumbles but goes and picks up his spear. —Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025

Guaranteed, prospective postseason opponents are grumbling a bit now. —Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025

Hawke returns too, grumbling and growling behind a rubber mask (and, eventually, some grisly prosthetics). —Katie Rife, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2025

Enterprises grumble about uneven ROI from their AI pilots, regulators press harder on compliance and even startup founders whisper about inflated valuations. —Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from Middle French grommeler, ultimately from Middle Dutch grommen; akin to Old High German grimm grim

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for grumble

• bumble
• crumble
• fumble
• humble
• jumble
• mumble
• rumble
• stumble
• tumble
• umbel

Kids Definition

grumble

verb

grum·​ble ˈgrəm-bəl 

grumbled; grumbling -b(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to mutter in discontent

2

: rumble entry 1

grumble noun

grumbler

-b(ə-)lər 

noun

grumblingly

-ˌb(ə-)liŋ-lē 

adverb