GRUNT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does grunt mean? 

• GRUNT (noun)
  The noun GRUNT has 3 senses:

1. the short low gruff noise of the kind made by hogs

2. an unskilled or low-ranking soldier or other worker

3. medium-sized tropical marine food fishes that utter grunting sounds when caught

  Familiarity information: GRUNT used as a noun is uncommon.

• GRUNT (verb)
  The verb GRUNT has 1 sense:

1. issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise

  Familiarity information: GRUNT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRUNT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The short low gruff noise of the kind made by hogs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

grunt; oink

Hypernyms ("grunt" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

grunt (issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An unskilled or low-ranking soldier or other worker

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

he went from grunt to chairman in six years

Hypernyms ("grunt" is a kind of...):

unskilled person (a person who lacks technical training)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Medium-sized tropical marine food fishes that utter grunting sounds when caught

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("grunt" is a kind of...):

percoid; percoid fish; percoidean (any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of the order Perciformes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "grunt"):

Haemulon album; margate (a grunt with a red mouth that is found from Florida to Brazil)

Haemulon macrostomum; Spanish grunt (a kind of grunt)

Haemulon aurolineatum; tomtate (found off the West Indies and Florida)

cottonwick; Haemulon malanurum (of warm Atlantic waters)

Haemulon parra; sailor's-choice; sailors choice (a grunt found from Florida to Brazil and Gulf of Mexico)

Anisotremus virginicus; pork-fish; porkfish (black and gold grunt found from Bermuda to Caribbean to Brazil)

Anisotremus surinamensis; black margate; pompon (dusky grey food fish found from Louisiana and Florida southward)

hogfish; Orthopristis chrysopterus; pigfish (found from Long Island southward)

Holonyms ("grunt" is a member of...):

family Haemulidae; Haemulidae (grunts)

• GRUNT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they grunt    ... he / she / it grunts   
Past simple: grunted   
Past participle: grunted   
-ing form: grunting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

He grunted his reluctant approval

Hypernyms (to "grunt" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

grunt (the short low gruff noise of the kind made by hogs)

grunter (domestic swine)

grunter (a person who grunts)

 Context examples 

The other replied with an ungracious grunt, but swung alongside.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He lay down and waited, while the porcupine grated its teeth and uttered grunts and sobs and occasional sharp little squeals.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He grunted, or rather, I might say, he barked.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But he kept his feelings to himself and only grunted in acknowledgment of the address.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The ‘honey-hunting call’ made by honey-hunters, and passed from generation to generation, is a loud trill followed by a short grunt: ‘brrr-hm’.

(How humans and wild Honeyguide birds call each other to help, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

He nodded his head several times, and grunted once or twice.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Well, at least you are better than that herd of swine in Vienna, whose gregarious grunt is, however, not more offensive than the isolated effort of the British hog.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Kerfoot, thus directly addressed, was startled into dropping his knife on the floor, though he managed to grunt affirmation.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“Twist it, an’ you’ll choke ’m plentee,” said Manuel, and the stranger grunted a ready affirmative.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He hardly speaks a word of English, and we can get nothing out of him but grunts.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)