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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Examples 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
Others opted for something even stronger: C4 explosive, a clay-like substance that some grunts would chew on to get stoned. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2024 Thanks to all that grunt, the SUV can rocket from zero to 60 mph in a very sports car-like 3.1 seconds, and hit a top speed of 193 mph. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 8 July 2024
Verb
There are many shows left before Nov. 5, so get ready for a lot of grunting half-hearted Trump voices and Rudolph making a wide range of perplexed expressions. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 4 Oct. 2024 Court documents note that shortly before the shooting calls came in, no one was seen walking on this street except for a man who appeared to be Halsall, who was holding a handgun, limping, growling, grunting and yelling. Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 21 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grunt 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grunt
Noun
  • But since 2010, changes in the populations that were migrating, and the failure of Congress to update the system with new legal channels for refugees and laborers, have made asylum the default access for migrants coming to the southwest border.
    Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Much like his 19th century predecessors, protection offers Trump an appeal to diverse constituencies: manufacturing interests, union laborers, declining industrial towns in swing states, voters without college educations and access to tech jobs.
    Bruce J. Schulman / Made by History, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Musicians must become actors playing roles, hollering certain motifs and muttering others.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Inside the hall, the audience took care to still its usual soundtrack of muttering, shuffling, coughing, and snoring.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Sometime later, a passing pipeline company worker pulled the vehicle from the ditch.
    Ryan J. Foley, Twin Cities, 16 Nov. 2024
  • The company issued a follow-up notification at 10:41 a.m. that workers responded to a vapor release while performing maintenance on equipment.
    Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, 15 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • But Pippa ignores her friend’s request, sneaks out of the room, and tiptoes downstairs to find Naomi, who is mumbling something about missing jammy dodgers.
    Fletcher Peters, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Another guy mumbled to himself, squatting on cardboard in front of a bank.
    Joshua Cohen, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Wednesday’s report comes after earlier data showed the economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs in September, inflation is a whisper away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and consumer confidence jumped this month by the fastest clip since March of 2021 — all signs of a robust economy.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
  • There was also a missed opportunity during the Tribal whispers portion of the evening.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Baraka took the stage, in a pink shirt and white sneakers, and delivered an address that kept the room murmuring and chuckling for more than an hour.
    Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
  • My Method Actor scatters luminous beads of sound design into a writhing body of hooks and vocal lines—sometimes murmured, others chanted, all interspersed with that trademark Yanya flourish that sounds like a sigh rising to a yelp.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 13 Sep. 2024
Verb
  • Fike doesn’t mouth along to the songs, make distinct markers of when one ends and another begins, or even mention the titles of any of them.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
  • Also present was Dmitri Shostakovich, who had come to New York at Stalin’s behest, in order to mouth propaganda at the Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Grunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grunt. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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