gripe

1 of 2

verb

griped; griping

intransitive verb

1
: to complain with grumbling
Students griped about having too much homework.
2
: to experience gripes

transitive verb

1
a
: irritate, vex
griped by the new regulations
2
: to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of
3
archaic : seize, grasp
griper noun

gripe

2 of 2

noun

1
: grievance, complaint
Her main gripe was his utter lack of ambition.
2
: a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain
usually used in plural
3
archaic : clutch, grasp
broadly : control, mastery

Examples of gripe in a Sentence

Verb All of the workers were griping about the new regulations. The students griped that they had too much homework. Noun I would rather not listen to gripes about your latest disasters in the dating game.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Cathy, a local farmer, gripes that storms and floods are becoming more frequent, and the price of wheat more expensive, while stopping short of citing climate change. Thomas Page, CNN, 16 July 2024 Purists will gripe about the large number of posthumous casts but, for a lay audience, the show serves as a decent dose of beauty and a fine introduction to a titan of modern sculpture. Sarah Douglas, ARTnews.com, 4 July 2024
Noun
One of the common gripes about modern baseball is that too much action has been removed. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2024 His biggest gripe is the garbage people leave around his trees, but making a map of fruit locations? Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gripe 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gripe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, from Old English grīpan; akin to Old High German grīfan to grasp, Lithuanian griebti

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of gripe was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near gripe

Cite this Entry

“Gripe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gripe. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

gripe

1 of 2 verb
griped; griping
1
archaic : to seize firmly : grip
2
b
: irritate sense 1, vex
laziness gripes our teacher
3
: to cause or experience spasms of pain in the intestines
4
griper noun

gripe

2 of 2 noun
1
2
3
: a spasm of pain in the intestines

Medical Definition

gripe

1 of 2 verb
griped; griping

transitive verb

: to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of

intransitive verb

: to experience gripes

gripe

2 of 2 noun
: a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain
usually used in plural

More from Merriam-Webster on gripe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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