- 1v/ˈɡrʌmbəl/complain under your breath抱怨；碎碎念
To keep complaining about something in a low, unhappy voice, usually about small things and not to the person who could change them.
文法及物、不及物兩種都可以：後面可以接受詞，也可以不接。
grumble 是「一直小聲抱怨」——不是大聲吵起來，而是嘴裡念念有詞，講給旁邊的人聽。它有兩個重點：一是持續，不是講一次就算了；二是通常不會講給能解決的人聽。跟 complain 比，complain 可以是正式反映意見（跟店家、老師講），grumble 偏向私下發牢騷。句型是 grumble about 某事、grumble that 某句話。
示範例句 · Example
The players grumbled about the long walk to the field.
中文翻譯那些球員抱怨了走到那個球場的那段長路。
常見搭配
grumble about something
抱怨某件事
to keep complaining about something
Farmers are always grumbling about the weather.
grumble that ...
抱怨說…
to complain by saying that something is true
The children grumbled that the film was too long.
grumble to somebody
跟某人發牢騷
to say your complaints to a particular person
He grumbled to his sister about the new rules.
keep grumbling
一直念個不停
to go on complaining
Stop grumbling and finish your homework.
意思相反
- 2v/ˈɡrʌmbəl/rumble like thunder隆隆響
To make a low, rolling sound that goes on for a while, like thunder far away, a heavy engine, or an empty stomach.
文法不及物動詞：後面不接受詞。
這個 grumble 講的是聲音：低沉、悶悶的，而且會持續滾一段時間——遠處的雷、開上坡的舊車、肚子餓的咕嚕聲，都可以用。它跟「抱怨」那個意思其實共用同一種感覺：低低的、含在裡面、一直沒停。跟 bang 或 crash 這種一下子的巨響不同，grumble 是慢慢滾過去的。
常見搭配
thunder grumbles
雷聲隆隆
distant thunder makes a low rolling sound
Thunder grumbled overhead as we packed up.
your stomach grumbles
肚子咕嚕叫
your empty stomach makes a low noise
His stomach grumbled all through the last lesson.
an engine grumbles
引擎低吼
a heavy engine makes a low continuous noise
The truck's engine grumbled outside the window.
- 3v/ˈɡrʌmbəl/doing all right (reply to 'How are you?')還過得去
口語Used when someone asks how you are, to say that things are going well enough and you have nothing real to complain about.
Mustn't grumble. 是英國人被問 How are you? 時的招牌回答，字面是「我不該抱怨」，實際意思是「還可以啦，沒什麼好嫌的」。它比 I'm fine 更含蓄——不誇自己過得好，也不真的訴苦，語氣輕鬆帶點自嘲。這是很口語、很英式的說法，美式英語裡幾乎不用；聽得懂就好，自己說會有點刻意。
原始詞典資料6 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
grumblenoun/ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/
- 1
A high thundering, rumbling or growling sound.
- 2
The sound made by a hungry stomach.
- 3
A surly complaint.
- That whiner is never without a grumble to share.
grumbleverb/ˈɡɹʌmbl̩/
- 1
To make a low, growling or rumbling noise, like a hungry stomach or certain animals.
- The distant thunder grumbles.
- It made his stomach grumble in protest to think the mule was eating, and here he was worrying about her with an empty belly of his own.
- 2
To complain; to murmur or mutter with discontent; to make ill-natured complaints in a low voice and a surly manner.
- He grumbles about the food constantly, but has yet to learn to cook.
- 3
To utter in a grumbling fashion.
- He grumbled that there was no grain "in the country" and that people were talking instead of working to provide it.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。