What does "growl" mean?
A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.
Growl
/ɡɹaʊl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.
- Grammar: growl is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: air a grievance, bark, bawl, beef.
- Useful contrasts: approval, calmness, cheer.
- Usage evidence: Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 'tis their nature too. But, children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes.
How to use "growl"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "growl" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "growl" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "growl" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "growl" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "growl" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "air a grievance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "growl", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.
"Hardly anything is more intensely disagreeable to one walking along the street, than to hear near his path a low savage growl—the expression of a surly dog's opinion and purpose."
- 2 the sound of growling (as made by animals) wordnet
- 3 A similar sound made by a human. broadly
- 4 The rumbling sound made by a human's hungry stomach. broadly
"Riding down the main thoroughfare, the growl of his stomach taints the soothing jazz playing on the radio."
- 5 An aggressive grumbling. broadly
"The clerk promised that he would; and Scrooge walked out with a growl. The office was closed in a twinkling, and the clerk, with the long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist (for he boasted no great-coat), went down a slide on Cornhill, at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindman's-buff."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A low-pitched rumbling sound produced with a wind instrument. broadly
"The growl effect comes from fitting a small straight mute—a cornet mute for trumpet and a trumpet mute for trombone—covering the instrument's bell with a rubber plunger, the kind used by plumbers, and moving it in and out to affect the tone."
- 7 Death growl broadly
Verb
- 1 To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry animal; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound. intransitive
"The dog growled at me as I walked past."
- 2 to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds wordnet
- 3 Of a wind instrument: to produce a low-pitched rumbling sound. intransitive
"And he is bending in the wind, scooping pitch, growling. […] He plays his false fingers. Chokes the trumpet. He is naked. This is naked jazz. O-bop-she-bam. Never lying. Telling it like it is."
- 4 To send a user a message via the Growl software library. intransitive
- 5 To express (something) by growling. transitive
"The old man growled his displeasure at the postman."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To play a wind instrument in a way that produces a low-pitched rumbling sound. transitive
"[…] John Gilmore would take up his tenor and growl a keening march, Danny Thompson stab and worry with a flute, Sun Ra leave his big conga and mount the temple of keyboards for a ritual parenthesis of chromatic zig-zags and electro-howls."
- 7 To perform death growl vocals. intransitive
Example
"Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 'tis their nature too. But, children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "growl"?
Common synonyms include: air a grievance, bark, bawl, beef, belch, bellow.
How do you use "growl" in a sentence?
Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 'tis their nature too. But, children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes.
How do you pronounce "growl"?
Pronounced /ɡɹaʊl/.
Etymology
From Middle English groulen, grollen, gurlen (“of the bowels: to growl, rumble”), either possibly from Old French groler (variant of croler (“to be agitated, shake”)), grouler, grouller (“to growl, grumble”), from Frankish *grullen, *gruljan or from Old English gryllan, both from Proto-Germanic *gruljaną (“to make a sound; to growl, grumble, rumble”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to make a noise; to mumble, murmur; to rattle; to grind; to rub, stroke”), probably ultimately imitative. The word is cognate with Middle Dutch grollen (“to make a noise; to croak, grumble, murmur; to be angry”) (modern Dutch grollen (“to grumble”)), German grollen (“to rumble; to be angry, bear ill will”), Old English grillan, griellan (“to provoke, offend; to gnash the teeth”). Compare grill. The noun is derived from the verb.