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
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
Jordan Greene, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
The elephant is now decidedly less friendly, and is doing far more than twitching and grunting.
—Stephen Maher, TIME, 15 Feb. 2025
Terina Allen, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
There’ll probably be some cowbells, and there might be someone trilling in sultry Portuguese or a burst of wordless, stoic alpha-male grunts.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grunt
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.
Verb
Kandil recalls how, in those moments, her son would grunt and clamp down, completely blocking his airway.
—Jordan Greene, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
The elephant is now decidedly less friendly, and is doing far more than twitching and grunting.
—Stephen Maher, TIME, 15 Feb. 2025
Noun
Tedious and menial grunt work comes with every job at every organizational level.
—Terina Allen, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
There’ll probably be some cowbells, and there might be someone trilling in sultry Portuguese or a burst of wordless, stoic alpha-male grunts.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grunt
Cite this Entry
“Grunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grunt. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share