grunt
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- v grunt issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise "He grunted his reluctant approval"
- n grunt medium-sized tropical marine food fishes that utter grunting sounds when caught
- n grunt the short low gruff noise of the kind made by hogs
- n grunt an unskilled or low-ranking soldier or other worker "infantrymen in Vietnam were called grunts","he went from grunt to chairman in six years"
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Interesting fact: Rabbits do in fact make sounds. When angry, upset, or frightened, a rabbit makes a sort of grunting/whimpering sound. It's actually quite interesting.
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- Grunt A deep, guttural sound, as of a hog.
- Grunt A U. S. infantryman; -- used especially of those fighting in the war in Vietnam.
- Grunt (Zoöl) Any one of several species of American food fishes, of the genus Hæmulon, allied to the snappers, as, the black grunt (A. Plumieri), and the redmouth grunt (H. aurolineatus), of the Southern United States; -- also applied to allied species of the genera Pomadasys Orthopristis, and Pristopoma. Called also pigfish squirrel fish, and grunter; -- so called from the noise it makes when taken.
- v. t Grunt grŭnt To make a deep, short noise, as a hog; to utter a short groan or a deep guttural sound. "Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life." - ***
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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Interesting fact: You can tell the sex of a turtle by the sound it makes, A male grunts, A female hisses.
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- grunt To make a guttural noise, as a hog; also, to utter short or broken groans, as from eagerness or over-exertion.
- n grunt A deep guttural sound, as that made by a hog.
- n grunt A fish of the family Hæmulonidæ, as those of the genera Hœmulon and Orthopristis: so called from the noise they make when hauled out of the water. Also called pig-fish and growler for the same reason. See redmouth.
- n grunt Among the various fishes of the genus Hæmulon and family Hæmulidæ, so named, are the following: Black grunt, Hæmulon bonariense; boar-grunt, H. sciurus; French grunt, H. flavolineatum; gray grunt, H. macrostomum; grunt blackfish, H. bonariense (See blackfish); Margaret grunt, H. album; open-mouthed grunt (same as French grunt); red-mouthed grunt, Bathystoma rimator; striped grunt, Hæmulon macrostomum; white grunt, Bathystoma striatus (see also capeuna); yellow grunt (same as boargrunt).
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- v.i Grunt grunt to make a sound like a pig: to utter guttural sounds
- n Grunt a short, guttural sound, as of a hog
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Quotations
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“One chops the wood, the other does the grunting.” -
“A pig bought on credit is forever grunting.”
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“Look wise say nothing and grunt, speech was given to conceal thought.”
Idioms
What can you expect from a hog but a grunt? - (USA) This means that you can't expect people to behave in a way that is not in their character- a 'hog' is a 'pig', so an unrefined person can't be expected to behave in a refined way.
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Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. grunten,; akin to As. grunian, G. grunzen, Dan. grynte, Sw. grymta,; all prob. of imitative; or perh. akin to E. groan,
Usage
In literature:
Imber grunted and stalked up to Emily Travis.
"The Spinner's Book of Fiction" by Various
I grunted sourly, that weapon had been about as useful to me as a stuffed bear or an authentic Egyptian Obelisk.
"Highways in Hiding" by George Oliver Smith
From these bushes had come a peculiar noise, half grunt, half yawn!
"The Boy Land Boomer" by Ralph Bonehill
Well," grunted Uncle Paul, "I suppose it would be rather exciting, and we shall be able to see; but I don't know, though.
"The Ocean Cat's Paw" by George Manville Fenn
They expressed their satisfaction by several loud grunts, and then squatted round in a circle outside the door of my tent.
"Dick Onslow" by W.H.G. Kingston
Mr. Saunders grunted; Mr. Vyner blew out a thin thread of smoke toward the sky and pondered.
"Salthaven" by W. W. Jacobs
Captain Ward grunted, but Denby was all alertness.
"A Son Of The Sun" by Jack London
Johnny had whipped around as if the grunt had been a lion's roar.
"Breaking Point" by James E. Gunn
Generally when she spoke he would give an answering grunt.
"Tess of the Storm Country" by Grace Miller White
Melora Meigs grunted and left the room.
"The Best Short Stories of 1920" by Various
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In poetry:
Greed will also sometimes try:
Happiness he hunts!
But his dwelling is a sty,
And his tones are grunts.
Happiness he hunts!
But his dwelling is a sty,
And his tones are grunts.
"December 27, 1879" by George MacDonald
The drunkard to the tavern goes, possess'd
Of sense, of strength, and all his pow'rs of mind:
He enters in a man, goes out a beast,
Spues like a dog, and grunts like a fiend.
Of sense, of strength, and all his pow'rs of mind:
He enters in a man, goes out a beast,
Spues like a dog, and grunts like a fiend.
"Advice To The Drunkard" by Rees Prichard
The Great will never amongst hogs reside,
Whose stench and hideous grunt they can't endure;
Christ and his holy Spirit can't abide
In the same house with those that are impure.
Whose stench and hideous grunt they can't endure;
Christ and his holy Spirit can't abide
In the same house with those that are impure.
"Advice To Ev'ry Master Of A Family, To Govern His House In A Religious Manner" by Rees Prichard
One and two, three and four,
Cleave the air and smite the floor!
Five and six, seven and eight,
Legs apart, shoulders straight!
Thirty fat men grunt and puff,
Thirty bellies plead, Enough!
Cleave the air and smite the floor!
Five and six, seven and eight,
Legs apart, shoulders straight!
Thirty fat men grunt and puff,
Thirty bellies plead, Enough!
"Dumb-Bells" by John Crowe Ransom
His sleepy mouth, plugged by the heavy nipple,
Tugs like a puppy, grunting as he feels;
Through his frail nerves her own deep languor’s ripple
Like a broad river sighing through the reeds.
Tugs like a puppy, grunting as he feels;
Through his frail nerves her own deep languor’s ripple
Like a broad river sighing through the reeds.
"The Zulu Girl" by Roy Campbell
“Next mom rose Johnnie’s mates to pack
And make an early shunt,
But all they could get out of Jack
Was ‘All right,’ or a grunt,
By pourin’ water down his back
And—when he turned—his front.
And make an early shunt,
But all they could get out of Jack
Was ‘All right,’ or a grunt,
By pourin’ water down his back
And—when he turned—his front.
"The Sleeping Beauty" by Henry Lawson
In news:
Breaking a sweat in the underlighted, overplotted and accurately titled "Half Past Dead," Steven Seagal, the Action Hero That Time Forgot, is grunting mightily to hold on to his dwindling audience.
Deep-sea fish recordings reveal grunts and quacks.
In a USTA 4.0 league doubles match, one of our opponents grunted or shreiked loudly on most of her hits.
Military spokesman reports Phobos-Grunt re-entry over Pacific Ocean.
An artist's conception shows the breakup of the Phobos-Grunt probe during the final phases of its atmospheric re-entry.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he wants to 'punish those guilty' for the failures of the Phobos-Grunt space probe and other space mishaps that have embarrassed Russia.
The unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe is seen in the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
The WTA has decided that women's tennis is too noisy and is going to crack down on those "grunts" that are made on the court at pro events.
LilMade21 Major Wright Posting some new #grunts with the @GridironGrunts app.
More grunt work this month.
And even though Em looked like a girl in it, he grunted like the little magical boy he is.
Sutch generated much of the intellectual grunt of the great reforms of the 1930s that helped pull NZ out of the Depression and redevelop its economy and social system.
A Caribbean fish, known as the French grunt, that is infested with gnathiids is pictured in this handout photo supplied by the National Science Foundation.
The gentle and non-aggressive birds lack a vocal organ, instead emitting hissing and grunting sounds.
The hits, the grunts, the yelling — it's the best.
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