Meanings
noungrunt work (uncountable)
- idiomaticuncountableWork (especially that which is heavy, repetitive or mindless) that is considered undesirable and therefore delegated to underlings.
He plans to hire somebody to do the grunt work of digging the trenches for the pipes.
1 more example
She has not only participated in the left as a star, even though she came into the role quite young. When Holly was between entertainment jobs, she volunteered for grunt work in anti-war organizations.
1990 December 9, Maida Tilchen, “Closer To Near”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 14
Origin
From the verb grunt.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 枯燥乏味的工作, 屎缺
- 枯燥乏味的工作 (kūzào fáwèi de gōngzuò)unrewarding work
- 屎缺 (shǐquē)unrewarding work
Finnish hanttihomma
- hanttihommaunrewarding work
Polish robota głupiego, czarna robota
- robota głupiegounrewarding work
- czarna robotaunrewarding work
Russian чёрная рабо́та
- чёрная рабо́та (čórnaja rabóta)unrewarding work
Cite this entry
APA
grunt work. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grunt%20work
MLA
“grunt work.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grunt%20work. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grunt work,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grunt%20work.
Source: grunt work on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.