grunt 1 of 2

1
as in grunting
speech that is not clear enough to be understood preoccupied with what he was doing, the mechanic gave only a grunt when I asked when the car would be ready

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2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work we have an opening in the warehouse if you don't mind doing grunt work

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grunt

2 of 2

verb

as in to mutter
to speak softly and unclearly was so absorbed with the video game that when asked what he wanted for dinner, he just grunted

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grunt
Noun
Paul Tan guesses it might be offered elsewhere with a range of diesel powertrains, and perhaps those will bring a bit more grunt. New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2025 So the grunts up front are succeeding, but the running backs are failing? Troy Renck, Denver Post, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
The red hind grouper (Epinephelus guttatus) is big on grunting. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 18 Sep. 2025 But young Fraser barely grunts under the punishment, then puts his shirt back on and goes to see how Julia is doing. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for grunt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grunt
Noun
  • In the early twentieth century, two groups of Indians living in America, young intellectuals and working-class laborers, had very different experiences of the country.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The actions of delivery truck drivers, warehouse laborers and many others can be tracked and sifted, too.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • As for one consistent complaint heard muttered amid bleary-eyed guests of the former Standard, Schrager confirms the appropriate adjustments have been made.
    Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2025
  • But the other 3%, often muttered by students prospectively examining transfer applications, is distinct.
    Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The listener is no longer an outsider from the polite world of public broadcasting, or podcasting, but a tired factory worker longing for relief.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
  • In Uttar Pradesh, a development initiative provided community health workers with a smartphone app that combined diagnostic and treatment instructions with a client-management program.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The old Helena would have mumbled something under her breath, hectically pressed the call button a few more times, and fled the situation as quickly as possible.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
  • After whispering and mumbling my way through the ceremony, I was handed the scroll.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Just a shot of the spirit was enough to lend a whisper of warm, caramel-like flavor that plays nicely with the warm baking spices and molasses.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Nov. 2025
  • Jane uses her wit to survive under Henry VIII’s reign, an era where one wrong move, including the faintest whisper of gossip, may be the end of you.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Two students have unrolled what looks like an incomplete treasure map, and lean over it with magnifying glasses, murmuring to one another.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
  • For example, a heart murmur or crackling lungs often signify an issue is present.
    Joshua Hutcheson, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • True and Dream then appeared in the same way, with True expertly flipping her sunglasses onto her face in time to the music, before the trio joined Kardashian to mouth the lyrics.
    Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • As in the never-ending parade of ostensibly Christian exorcism movies, religious belief here seems like a superficial excuse for a stock array of supernatural hoodoo — no matter how many times Chalik’s Abuyya pauses the action to mouth some healing doctrine.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grunt. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.

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