Grunge

//ɡɹʌnd͡ʒ// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Dirt or filth, especially when difficult to clean. informal, uncountable

    "The cinema floor was covered in grunge deposited by the crowds."

  2. 2
    anything regarded as making something unclean wordnet
  3. 3
    The state of being filthy; grubbiness. informal, uncountable

    "Chad used to work as a coal miner, but couldn't handle the constant grunge."

  4. 4
    A subgenre of alternative rock, originating from Seattle, Washington in the early 1990s, which melds punk and metal. uncountable

    "Alice liked to wear plaids and ripped jeans, and listen to grunge."

Synonyms

All synonyms
dirtdirtfilthgreasegrimegunge

Example

More examples

"The cinema floor was covered in grunge deposited by the crowds."

Etymology

Back-formation from grungy.

Related phrases

post-grungesoft grungealternative rock

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.