groaning
UK/ˈɡɹəʊnɪŋ//ˈɡɹoʊnɪŋ/
groaning adjective: that groans. Also the ellipsis of groaning time.
Adjective
groaning (not comparable)
- That groans.
- Heavily laden, as if to creak under the strain.
- We sat down to a groaning table and feasted all evening.
Noun
groaning (plural groanings)
- A low sound associated with extended suffering, sorrow, and toil.
- From the nearby rail yards came clangings, groanings, chuggings.1997, Helen Papanikolas, A Greek Odyssey in the American West, page 5
Also used as
groaning is also the ellipsis of groaning time.
groaning is also the present participle and gerund of groan.
Forms of groaning
| plural | groanings |
|---|
Origin of groaning
From Middle English gronynge (“groaning”), from Old English grānung; equivalent to groan + -ing. Conflated with Middle English gronende, present participle of gronen, from Old English grāniende, present participle of grānian (“to groan”). Analyzable as groan + -ing.
Words formed from groaning
- groaning ale
- groaning beer
- groaning board
- groaning bread
- groaning cake
- groaning cheese
- groaning drink
- groaning malt
- groaning pie
- groaningly
- ungroaning
Phrases with groaning
Questions about groaning
- What does groaning mean?
- Groaning means that groans.
- What part of speech is groaning?
- Groaning can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce groaning?
- Groaning is pronounced /ˈɡɹoʊnɪŋ/ (US).
Words near groaning in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: groaning (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-groaning.ogg.
Cite this entry: “groaning.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/groaning. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.