grunt
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gruhntIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɹʌnt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
USmilitary slang
An unskilled or low-ranking soldier or other worker
“Infantrymen in Vietnam were called grunts.”
The snorting cry of a pig.
A person who does ordinary and boring work.
Medium-sized tropical marine food fishes that utter grunting sounds when caught
canadaus
A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.
verb
intransitiveukslang
To break wind; to fart.
intransitiveof a person
To make a grunt or grunts.
intransitiveof a pig
To make a grunt or grunts.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Medium-sized tropical marine food fishes that utter grunting sounds when caught
Used this way, grunt is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use grunt
- “Infantrymen in Vietnam were called grunts.”noun
- “He grunted his reluctant approval.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Communicate by hooting and grunting, as of primates.
A kind of grunt.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “grunt” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.