grumble means A high thundering, rumbling or growling sound. It carries an Arena rating of 1694, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, grumble ranks #424 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #777 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #920 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,003 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
grumble is pronounced /ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/.
Why “grumble” is a great word
To complain or make a low, growling sound in a discontented, muttering manner. From Middle French *grommeler* (“to murmur, mutter through the teeth”), a term built on the Middle Dutch *grommelen*, itself the frequentative of *grommen* (“to growl, grunt”), it first grumbled its way into English in the 1580s. Unlike a "groan" (which is a deeper, more involuntary sound of distress) or a "protest" (which implies a formal, public declaration of objection), to grumble is to voice one’s disquiet in a low, persistent, and private register. It is the stomach’s complaint after a poor meal, the sound of thunder gathering on a sullen horizon, the muttered commentary of a commuter under his breath—a minor music of perpetual, ingrained dissatisfaction.
Etymology
Probably from Middle French grommeler, from Old French grumeler (“to murmur, grumble”), from Middle Dutch *grommelen ("to murmur, mutter, grunt"; > Modern Dutch grommelen (“to grumble”)), frequentative of Middle Dutch grommen (“to growl, grunt”). Cognate with Middle Low German grummelen (> Low German grummeln (“to grumble”)), German grummeln (“to grumble”), Norwegian dialectal grymja (“to growl, grunt”).
noun
- A high thundering, rumbling or growling sound.
- The sound made by a hungry stomach.
- A surly complaint.e.g.“That whiner is never without a grumble to share.”
verb
- To make a low, growling or rumbling noise, like a hungry stomach or certain animals.e.g.“The distant thunder grumbles.”
- To complain; to murmur or mutter with discontent; to make ill-natured complaints in a low voice and a surly manner.e.g.“He grumbles about the food constantly, but has yet to learn to cook.”
- To utter in a grumbling fashion.e.g.“He grumbled that there was no grain "in the country" and that people were talking instead of working to provide it.” — 2001, Harry Willcox Pfanz, Gettysburg — the first day:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.