grumble
/ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/noun, verb
grumble is spelled G-R-U-M-B-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, grumble means “A high thundering, rumbling or growling sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of grumble is grumbles.
How many letters and syllables are in grumble?
| Letters | 7: G-R-U-M-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is grumble?
Grumble appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th 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 grumble?
- /ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/
- /ˈɡɹʊmbəl/
Grumble has 2 syllables (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: En-us-grumble.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of grumble
- grumbles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- grumbling participle, present
- grumbled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grumble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A high thundering, rumbling or growling sound.
- 2
The sound made by a hungry stomach.
- 3
A surly complaint.
That whiner is never without a grumble to share.
verb
- 1
To make a low, growling or rumbling noise, like a hungry stomach or certain animals.
The distant thunder grumbles.
- 2
To complain; to murmur or mutter with discontent; to make ill-natured complaints in a low voice and a surly manner.
He grumbles about the food constantly, but has yet to learn to cook.
- 3
To utter in a grumbling fashion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grumble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | grondement , gargouillement , grognement , gronder , gargouiller , ronchonner |
| German | Gegrummel, Grummeln , Knurren , murren |
| Portuguese | rosnado , rosnar , resmungar |
| Spanish | refunfuñadura , gruñido , gruñir , refunfuñar, rezongar, lamentarse |
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 grumble come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).