grunt

Meanings

Noun

• A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
• The snorting cry of a pig.
• Any fish of the perciform family Haemulidae.
• A person who does ordinary and boring work.
• An infantry soldier.
• The amount of power of which a vehicle is capable.
• A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.

Verb

• To make a grunt or grunts.
• To make a grunt or grunts.
• To break wind; to fart.

Origin

• From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną, frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun-.
• Cognate with German grunzen, Danish grynte. The noun senses are all instances of zero derivation from the verb.