grunt
An infantryman — the boots-on-the-ground soldier.
Definitions
The infantryman. The guy who actually walks the ground, carries the rifle, and takes the fight to the enemy. Popularised during Vietnam and worn as a badge of honour — grunts will tell you everyone else in the military exists to support them. Origin is disputed: either the noise made under a heavy ruck, or a backronym (Ground Replacement UNTrained).
More broadly, any low-ranking worker doing the unglamorous heavy lifting. Office grunts, code grunts — anyone stuck with the dogsbody work.
grunt In A Sentence
Origin & Usage
People Also Ask
What does grunt mean in military slang?
A grunt is an infantryman — the boots-on-the-ground soldier who does the frontline fighting.
How do you use grunt in a sentence?
A veteran might say, "I was a grunt in the infantry before I moved to logistics."
Is calling someone a grunt offensive?
Not usually — infantry soldiers often use it about themselves with pride, though tone matters depending on who's saying it.
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