Grumble
/ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA high thundering, rumbling or growling sound.
nounThe sound made by a hungry stomach.
Sentence Examples
This action makes me grumble.
She began to grumble and then to weep.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Workers sometimes ____ loudly when they are angry about new rules.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hungry hikers began to ____ when they realized that they still had several more miles to go before dinner.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It made his stomach grumble in protest to think the mule was eating, and here he was worrying about her with an empty belly of his own."
— 1995, Terry C. Johnston, Dance on the Wind, page 15:
"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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Workers sometimes ____ loudly when they are angry about new rules.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hungry hikers began to ____ when they realized that they still had several more miles to go before dinner.