gruff
/ɡɹʌf/adjective, verb, noun
gruff is spelled G-R-U-F-F: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gruff means “having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gruff?
| Letters | 5: G-R-U-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gruff?
Gruff appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gruff?
- US /ɡɹʌf/
- Australia /ɡɹɐf/
- /ɡɹʊf/
Gruff has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gruff.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gruff?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gruff from its last stressed vowel (/ʌf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gruff
- gruffer comparative
- gruffest superlative
- gruffs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- gruffing participle, present
- gruffed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gruff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
- 2
hoarse-voiced.
a gruff woman
- 3
hoarse.
a gruff voice
- 4
BritishIndiaOf goods: bulky.
[…] which by causing a great export of rice enhances the price of labour, and consequently of all other gruff, piece-goods and raw silk […]
verb
- 1
To speak gruffly.
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of grough (“gully in a moor”).
They found Uttley's body on the bottom of the gruff.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gruff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gruff come from?
16th century, from Dutch grof and/or Middle Low German grof (both “rough, coarse, rude”), from Old Dutch *grof or Old Saxon *grof, both from Proto-West Germanic *grob, from Proto-Germanic *grubaz (“coarse, rough”), possibly from an earlier *gahrubaz and then related with *hreubaz (“scabby, rough, scrubby”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).