GRUDGE | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of grudge in English grudgenoun [ C ] uk /ɡrʌdʒ/ us /ɡrʌdʒ/ Add to word list Add to word list a strong feeling of anger and dislike for a person who you feel has treated you badly, especially one that lasts for a long time: grudge against The message was clearly posted by someone with a grudge against the company.bear a grudge I don't bear any grudge against you.hold a grudge Amanda still holds a grudge against me for refusing to lend her that money.have a grudge The grandchildren of the man who lost out still have a grudge. Synonyms grievance score Anger and displeasure
  • acrimony
  • anger
  • animus
  • annoyance
  • bad feeling
  • flap
  • fury
  • fuss
  • get the hump idiom
  • gorge
  • grit
  • grit your teeth idiom
  • hard feelings idiom
  • irritation
  • rancour
  • red mist
  • reprehension
  • resentfulness
  • resentment
  • spite
See more results » grudgeverb [ T ] uk /ɡrʌdʒ/ us /ɡrʌdʒ/ (also begrudge) to not want to spend time or money on someone or something, or to not want to give something to someone: She grudged every hour she spent helping him. (also begrudge) to think that someone does not deserve something good that they have: [ + two objects ] I don't grudge you your holiday, it's just that you've chosen a bad time to go. Unwilling and reluctant
  • arsed
  • baulk
  • be blowed if... idiom
  • be in no mood for something/to do something idiom
  • bed
  • compassion fatigue
  • deign
  • disinclination
  • disinclined
  • disobliging
  • indisposed
  • indisposition
  • not have the heart to do something idiom
  • not have the stomach for something idiom
  • rather you than me idiom
  • reluctance
  • reluctant
  • unwillingness
  • willy-nilly
  • wouldn't
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Envy and jealousy (Definition of grudge from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

grudge | American Dictionary

grudgenoun [ C ] us /ɡrʌdʒ/ Add to word list Add to word list a strong feeling of anger and dislike for a person who treated you badly: He wasn’t one to hold a grudge, but he wasn’t going to be friendly. (Definition of grudge from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of grudge

grudge Nobody grudges the man serving ashore his good conditions, least of all his chum from sea. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 I do not think anyone grudged those benefits being extended at the time. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 I have known policemen who have pursued grudges against certain individuals without justification. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 I say emphatically that no money should be grudged in completing the work so well begun and so splendidly advanced. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 If there is any one piece of expenditure in this order which should not be grudged, it is the £1,760,000 additional expenditure on the police. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 They are complaints about attitude and are grudges rather than formal complaints. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Nobody grudges higher taxation made necessary by the war. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Shipping has been grudged, though it is often found for far less vital services. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 I bear him no grudges, as he well knows. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Money spent on the retraining and development of people coming out of the pit is surely money that should not be grudged. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 No one can say that this country has grudged money for housing. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 We shall not be grudged money for the recruitment of teachers provided that we convince public opinion that we use them to the best advantage. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Costs have gone up in this business as in others, and also more money is required—and is certainly not grudged by the industry—for research. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 The risk is that deliberate delays may be created by individuals who hold grudges against others. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 He grudges the unnecessary fences and hedges that are put up on smaller holdings. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 See all examples of grudge These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of grudge?

Translations of grudge

in Chinese (Traditional) 怨恨,嫌隙,積怨, 吝惜, 勉強地做,勉強地給… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 怨恨,嫌隙,积怨, 吝惜, 勉强地做,勉强地给… See more in Spanish rencor, dar de mala gana, rencor [masculine]… See more in Portuguese rancor, motivo de rancor, dar de má vontade… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian うらみ, 怨恨(えんこん), (時間・金)を惜しむ… See more kin, hırs, garaz… See more rancune [feminine], rechigner à, accorder à contrecœur… See more rancor, donar a contracor… See more met tegenzin doen/geven, misgunnen, wrok… See more zdráhat se, nepřát, závidět… See more være uvillig, være imod, misunde… See more enggan melakukan, kesal, kekesalan… See more ไม่เต็มใจ, ความไม่พอใจ, ความขุ่นแค้น… See more miễn cưỡng làm gì, phẫn uất về điều gì, đố kỵ… See more żal, uraza, żałować… See more bjuda/bära ngn emot, inte unna, missunna… See more tidak merelakan, berasa tidak senang, menaruh dendam… See more ungern tun/geben, missgönnen, der Groll… See more bitterhet [masculine], nag [neuter], ha imot… See more 유감, 억울해하다… See more жалкувати, шкодувати, відчувати обурення… See more rancore, invidiare, dare a malincuore… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

grubbily grubbing grubby grubstake grudge grudge match grudged grudging grudgingly {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of grudge

  • grudge match
See all meanings

Word of the Day

ruby

UK /ˈruː.bi/ US /ˈruː.bi/

a transparent, dark red precious stone, often used in jewellery

About this

Blog

Pondering, musing, and brooding (The language of thinking)

February 11, 2026 Read More

New Words

fricy February 09, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   NounVerb
  • American   Noun
  • Examples
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add grudge to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add grudge to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » Why Do People Hold Grudges