grunt

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grunt / grənt/ • v. [intr.] (of an animal, esp. a pig) make a low, short guttural sound. ∎  (of a person) make a low inarticulate sound resembling this, typically to express effort or indicate assent.• n. 1. a low, short guttural sound made by an animal or a person. 2. inf. a low-ranking or unskilled soldier or other worker. ∎  a common soldier. 3. an edible shoaling fish (family Pomadasyidae) of tropical inshore waters and coral reefs, able to make a loud noise by grinding its teeth and amplifying the sound in the swim bladder.ORIGIN: Old English grunnettan, of Germanic origin and related to German grunzen; probably originally imitative.

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