Illustration of grunt
- grunt 2
grunted; grunting; grunts
: to utter a grunt
: to utter with a grunt
grunter
noun
plural grunts
1
a
: the deep short sound characteristic of a hog
b
: a similar sound
2
[from the noise it makes when taken from the water]
: any of a family (Haemulidae synonym Pomadasyidae) of chiefly tropical marine bony fishes
3
: a dessert made by dropping biscuit dough on top of boiling berries and steaming
blueberry grunt
4
a
: a U.S. army or marine foot soldier especially in the Vietnam War
b
: one who does routine unglamorous work
—often used attributively
grunt work
Synonyms
Examples of grunt in a Sentence
Verb
The workers were grunting with effort as they lifted the heavy furniture.
She grunted a few words in reply, then turned and walked away.
Noun
the grunt of a pig
I could hear the grunts of the movers as they lifted the heavy furniture.
He answered her with a grunt.
He was a grunt who worked his way up to become an officer.
He's just a grunt in the attorney's office.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rob Stein, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024
But just as your eyes begin to glaze over watching Wahlberg and his co-stars sweating and grunting their way across the jungle, someone comes along to save the movie.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
As visiting royal Karl Lagerfeld looked on, Alice caught the baby, which grunted violently.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
Sasquatch Sunset made headlines last month as one of the weirdest films to premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival — a strange and completely dialogue-free story about a grunting family of Bigfoots.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2024
Sasquatch Sunset Photo: Courtesy Square Peg Jesse Eisenberg also features in this zany gem, from David and Nathan Zellner, as a hairy, grunting Sasquatch—the mythical creature also known as Bigfoot—opposite the always excellent Riley Keough.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2024
Cassowaries communicate through various sounds, from hissing to whistling to grunting to even booming.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Onlookers grunt disapprovingly, angry at the noise.
—Sophie Neiman, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2023
Symptoms may include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice, grunting breaths and abnormal movements.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 31 Dec. 2023
Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
Whether bosses or grunts, most of the newcomers were from New York, where a mob hierarchy oversees the illicit marijuana trade in Oklahoma and swoops in to collect the profits, according to law enforcement officials and court files.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2024
Millions of Americans, with grunts or glee, tap at their devices or wind their watch hands, manually — and mentally — changing the time to reflect a change in seasons.
—Diba Mohtasham, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
The spot featured Kelce among middle-aged suburban men settling into lawn chairs with grunts and groans.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2024
As for grunt, Lady A is powered by twin diesel Caterpillar engines capable of producing more than 1,800 horses.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2024
And the Creature, previously nonverbal save for a few grunts here and there, now speaks!
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 10 Feb. 2024
Cole Sprouse's performance is comedic and broad Sprouse’s performance is more comedic, with glances and grunts and groans.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 7 Feb. 2024
There, flitting between the trees, is a humanoid creature with a plasma cannon and an invisibility cloak that proves more formidable than any guerilla grunt.
—EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
Verb
Inside, the air is filled with the sound of snorting, grunting, squealing pigs and piglets.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024
But just as your eyes begin to glaze over watching Wahlberg and his co-stars sweating and grunting their way across the jungle, someone comes along to save the movie.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
As visiting royal Karl Lagerfeld looked on, Alice caught the baby, which grunted violently.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
Sasquatch Sunset made headlines last month as one of the weirdest films to premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival — a strange and completely dialogue-free story about a grunting family of Bigfoots.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2024
Sasquatch Sunset Photo: Courtesy Square Peg Jesse Eisenberg also features in this zany gem, from David and Nathan Zellner, as a hairy, grunting Sasquatch—the mythical creature also known as Bigfoot—opposite the always excellent Riley Keough.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2024
Cassowaries communicate through various sounds, from hissing to whistling to grunting to even booming.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Onlookers grunt disapprovingly, angry at the noise.
—Sophie Neiman, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2023
Symptoms may include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice, grunting breaths and abnormal movements.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 31 Dec. 2023
Noun
Once on the brink of extinction, elephant seals are expanding north into new breeding grounds along the California coast, turning long-empty beaches into a ruckus of roars, grunts, chirps and moans.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
Whether bosses or grunts, most of the newcomers were from New York, where a mob hierarchy oversees the illicit marijuana trade in Oklahoma and swoops in to collect the profits, according to law enforcement officials and court files.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2024
Millions of Americans, with grunts or glee, tap at their devices or wind their watch hands, manually — and mentally — changing the time to reflect a change in seasons.
—Diba Mohtasham, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
The spot featured Kelce among middle-aged suburban men settling into lawn chairs with grunts and groans.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2024
As for grunt, Lady A is powered by twin diesel Caterpillar engines capable of producing more than 1,800 horses.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2024
And the Creature, previously nonverbal save for a few grunts here and there, now speaks!
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 10 Feb. 2024
Cole Sprouse's performance is comedic and broad Sprouse’s performance is more comedic, with glances and grunts and groans.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 7 Feb. 2024
There, flitting between the trees, is a humanoid creature with a plasma cannon and an invisibility cloak that proves more formidable than any guerilla grunt.
—EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grunt.' 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
Middle English, from Old English grunnettan, frequentative of grunian, of imitative origin
Noun
derivative of grunt entry 1
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of grunt was
before the 12th century
Articles Related to grunt
Dictionary Entries Near grunt
Cite this Entry
“Grunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grunt. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
grunt
nounˈgrənt
1
a
: the deep short sound made by a hog
b
: a similar sound
2
: any of numerous marine fishes related to the snappers
grunt
verb
grunter
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on grunt
Nglish: Translation of grunt for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of grunt for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about grunt
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