groannoun [ C ]
uk/ɡrəʊn/us/ɡroʊn/C2 a deep, long sound showing great pain or unhappiness:
We could hear the groans of the wounded soldiers.
a complaining noise or phrase:
He looked at the piles of dirty dishes and gave a groan of dismay.
More examples
- The rescuers could hear the groans of someone trapped in the rubble.
- A groan went up from around the office when the electricity went off.
- The groans of the wounded and dying could be heard all over the battlefield.
- He gave a terrible groan before collapsing to the ground.
- We heard great groans coming from the nextdoor delivery room, followed by bloodcurdling shrieks.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sounds made by humans with their mouths
- boom
- catcall
- cheer
- crow
- cry
- gasp
- hoot
- keen
- laugh, shout, scream, etc. your head off idiom
- moan
- rasp
- raspberry
- roar
- sibilant
- squall
- wail
- whistle
- whoop
- wolf whistle
- yowl
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Sadness and regret
Pain & painful
Complaining
groanverb [ I ]
uk/ɡrəʊn/us/ɡroʊn/C2 to make a deep, long sound showing great pain or unhappiness:
He collapsed, groaning with pain.
[ + speech ] "Not again," he groaned (= said in a low unhappy voice).
to complain or speak unhappily:
She's always moaning and groaning (= complaining a lot) about the weather.
More examples
- He groaned with pain before losing consciousness.
- He groaned at the sight of all the dirty dishes piled everywhere.
- When the computer crashed again, he groaned with frustration.
- "I'm fed up with you moaning and groaning all the time!," she shouted.
- The crash victim groaned as they lifted her gently onto a stretcher.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sounds made by humans with their mouths
- boom
- catcall
- cheer
- crow
- cry
- gasp
- hoot
- keen
- laugh, shout, scream, etc. your head off idiom
- moan
- rasp
- raspberry
- roar
- sibilant
- squall
- wail
- whistle
- whoop
- wolf whistle
- yowl
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Sadness and regret
Pain & painful
Complaining
Idiom(s)
groan with/under (the weight of) sth