grunt

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.”

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, slang)An infantry soldier.

   “The poges stare at the grunts as though the grunts were Hell's Angels at the ballet.”

   “The events described are those encountered by only 160 men, though the adversity recounted is representative of that experienced by all grunts in Vietnam.”

   “He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt!”

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 […]”

   “With this much grunt, it is surprising that the engine is relatively quiet.”

   “The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.”

7. (Canada, US)A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.

verb

1. (intransitive)To make a grunt or grunts.

   “to grunt and sweat under a weary life”

   “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.”

2. (intransitive)To make a grunt or grunts.
3. (UK, intransitive, slang)To break wind; to fart.

   “Who just grunted?”