grunt

Etymology

From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan (“to grunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *grunnattjan, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”). Cognate with German grunzen (“to grunt”), Danish grynte (“to grunt”). The noun senses are all instances of zero derivation from the verb.

noun

1. A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
   The stranger, with a comfortable kind of grunt over his pipe, put his legs up on the settle that he had to himself. 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapter X
2. The snorting cry of a pig.
3. Any fish of the perciform family Haemulidae.
4. A person who does ordinary and boring work.
5. (US, military slang) An infantry soldier.
   Coordinate term: pogue
   The poges stare at the grunts as though the grunts were Hell's Angels at the ballet. 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, page 39
   The events described are those encountered by only 160 men, though the adversity recounted is representative of that experienced by all grunts in Vietnam. 1984, Charles Robert Anderson, The Grunts, Berkley Books, page xii
   He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt! 1986, James Cameron, Aliens, spoken by Burke (Paul Reiser)
6. (slang) The amount of power of which a vehicle is capable.
   The engine might not possess quite as much grunt as the later 24v six, but it delivers invigorating performance […] 1992, Autocar & Motor, volume 192, page 61
   With this much grunt, it is surprising that the engine is relatively quiet. 2006 February, Torque, page 56
   The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep. Feb 2021, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2
7. (Canada, US) A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.

verb

1. (intransitive, of a person) To make a grunt or grunts.
   The silhouette sharpens and fades as the carving is moved before the flames of the hearth, its maker grunts in perfect imitation of the ancestor - a human-lioness in oestrus. 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 186
2. (intransitive, of a pig) To make a grunt or grunts.
3. (intransitive, UK, slang) To break wind; to fart.
   Who just grunted?