How to Use groan in a Sentence

groan

verb
  • She groaned when she saw the bill.
  • The wounded man groaned in pain.
  • The chair groaned under his weight.
  • She groaned that she would have to start all over.
  • He's always moaning and groaning about his salary.
  • Merchants are groaning over slow holiday sales.
  • Feel free to laugh or groan or both.
    — U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Feel free to laugh or groan or both.
    — U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
  • When the shots went bad, fans groaned and tried to coax him on.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
  • The man groaned again when the nurse touched his elbow.
    — Darrell Smith may 1, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026
  • Or get ready for a lot of groaning and whining.
    — Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 25 Mar. 2026
  • No one likes to be booed, no one likes to be groaned at, no one likes to be laughed at.
    — Michael Schneider, chicagotribune.com, 27 June 2019
  • My muscles groaned against the weight of the skin around them, aching to be set loose.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
  • The crowd groaned after the first three short shots went in the water.
    — Tod Leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 Apr. 2018
  • Nearby, the frozen lake groaned and popped in the sub-zero air.
    — Al Wolter, Outdoor Life, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Arthur groans, but there is affection in his protest.
    — Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Fans groaned as a deep fly ball pulled just foul into the outfield seats.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Your shelves are groaning with enough books to last you for a dozen desert islands.
    — Jason Kehe, WIRED, 17 June 2019
  • The great wooden beams of the temple’s halls had flexed and groaned with the strain.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Winslow couldn’t help but groan when told Nurkic had let the bear out of the bag.
    — oregonlive, 22 Feb. 2022
  • Or the woman who groans and rolls her eyes when a slow-walking tourist blocks her path.
    — Jessica Ravitz, CNN, 19 July 2017
  • Turn a crank and the man groaned and waved one arm over his mouth while the animal growled.
    — Ron Charles, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
  • Asked about the top of the 10th, Tracy groaned.
    — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 3 May 2026
  • Sections of the home crowd groaned, but this was what Emery wanted.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The treetops groaned with wind created by the force of the megafire.
    — Jordan Thomas may 28, Literary Hub, 28 May 2025
  • Asked to compare the skill sets of the two players, Boudreau groaned.
    — Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 14 Mar. 2017
  • Take Italy, where banks are still groaning under the weight of bad loans.
    — Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2019
  • Expect a lot of kicks, punches, chases and grunts and groans.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 23 May 2026
  • People shuddered at the sight of it, or groaned, or covered their eyes.
    — Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Beneath the shrine, men grinned and groaned and heaved; the gravel at their feet grew dark with sweat.
    — Neil Shea, National Geographic, 12 June 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'groan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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