grunt

Dictionary: grunt   (grŭnt)

1. To utter a deep guttural sound, as a hog does.
2. To utter a sound similar to a grunt, as in disgust.

To utter or express with a deep guttural sound: He merely grunted his approval.

1. A deep guttural sound.
2. Any of various chiefly tropical marine fishes of the family Haemulidae that, upon removal from the water, produce grunting sounds by rubbing together tooth plates in the throat.
3. Slang. An infantryman in the U.S. military, especially in the Vietnam War: “They were called grunts....They were the infantrymen, the foot soldiers of the war” (Bernard Edelman).
4. Slang. One who performs routine or mundane tasks.
5. New England. A dessert made by stewing fruit topped with pieces of biscuit dough, which steam as the fruit cooks. Also called slump.

[Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan; probably akin to grunnian, to make a loud noise, grunt, of imitative origin.]

Grunts can be tropical marine fish, infantrymen in the military, desserts of stewed fruit topped with biscuit dough, or low guttural sounds. But when your gym says "No Grunts," it has only the latter in mind:

"Grunting, rude as it may be, has been commonplace in gyms for as long as weights have been lifted. At most health clubs, grunts elicit little more than annoyed looks or sighs of irritation. But at Planet Fitness, a national chain with 120 locations, it is a matter not only of etiquette, but also of club policy: one too many offending noises can get a membership revoked in the time it takes to do a sit-up....
"How does one distinguish between a grunt and a very deep breath?"

Link: No Grunting, They Said, and He Was at the Gym - New York Times

Posted November 19, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

1. Named after the grunting noise it makes, this rich, sweet-flavored fish can be found in the United States mainly in Florida's coastal waters. Anatomically related to the snapper, grunt is generally available only in its region, and is best either broiled or sautéed. See also fish. 2. An old-fashioned dessert of fruit topped with biscuit dough and stewed. Also called slump.

verb

To complain in low indistinct tones: grumble, murmur, mutter. See happy/unhappy, sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

noun

A low indistinct utterance of complaint: grumble, murmur, mutter. See happy/unhappy, sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

n. 1. informal a low-ranking or unskilled soldier or other worker: he went from grunt to major in less than five years.

2. a common soldier.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Quick, sharp sound created by a forced expiration against a closed glottis; elicited by sharp pain. See also grunting.

• abdominal palpation g's, g. expiratory — a grunt occurs with each expiration.
• percussion g. — grunt with each percussion over the sensitive area.
• walking g. — a grunt with each step while walking.

Originally a pejorative term for Infantry Marines but now a source of pride.

Look up grunt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Grunt may refer to:

• a deep guttural sound
  • death grunt, the death metal singing style
• slang for an infantryman
• fish of the family Haemulidae
• Grunt sculpin, the only member of the fish family Rhamphocottidae
• Grunt (G.I. Joe), an infantryman in the G.I. Joe universe
• "The Grunt", a 1970 instrumental recording by The J.B.'s
• Grunt (board wargame), a 1971 tactical wargame

In games

Many games use the "simple soldier" meaning:

• a Covenant enemy in the Halo series
• a Warcraft orcish warrior
• the simplest unit in the video game Z
• the smallest enemy in the video game Metal Arms: Glitch in the System

See also

• Gruntz, a puzzle/strategy game
• Grunts (novel), a fantasy by Mary Gentle
• Grunts (film), a gay pornographic film
• Grunts (comics), a comic book mini-series by Keith Giffen

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - grynte, stønne, brumme
v. tr. - udbryde med en grynten
n. - grynten, stønnen, brummen

Nederlands (Dutch)
knorren, schijten, geknor, knorvis, boer (geluid), infanterist, laaggeplaatste arbeider

Français (French)
v. intr. - grogner
v. tr. - grogner, émettre un grognement
n. - grognement, (US) troufion

Deutsch (German)
v. - grunzen
n. - Gegrunze

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - γρυλίζω, γρούζω
n. - γρύλισμα, βρυχηθμός, βόγκος, στεναγμός

Italiano (Italian)
grugnire, brontolare, grugnito

Português (Portuguese)
v. - grunhir, resmungar
n. - grunhido (m), resmungo (m)

Русский (Russian)
хрюкать, хрюканье, ворчать, ворчанье

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - gruñir, refunfuñar, rezongar, emitir un sonido gutural como el del cerdo o similar
v. tr. - expresarse con esos gruñidos o sonidos
n. - gruñido, sonido gutural similar al del cerdo

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - grymta
n. - grymtning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
作呼噜声, 咕哝, 发哼声, 咕哝着表示, 咕哝着说, 呼噜声

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 作呼嚕聲, 咕噥, 發哼聲
v. tr. - 咕噥著表示, 咕噥著說
n. - 呼嚕聲, 咕噥

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 불평하다, (돼지가) 꿀꿀대다
v. tr. - 투덜거리며 말하다
n. - (돼지가) 꿀꿀대는 소리

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ぶつぶついう声, ブーブー鳴く声
v. - ぶつぶつと言う, ブーブー鳴く, ブーブー音をたてる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقبع ( الخنزير), ينخر (الاسم) صوت الخنزير, النخير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮נחר, חרחר, נהם‬
v. tr. - ‮נחר, חרחר, נהם‬
n. - ‮נהמה, חרחור, נחירה, סוג של דגים טרופיים המשמיעים נהמה כשנתפסים‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.