complained; complaining; complains
1
: to express grief, pain, or discontent
complaining about the weather
2
: to make a formal accusation or charge
He threatened to complain of him to the captain.
complainer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of complain in a Sentence
He works hard but he never complains.
If you're unhappy with the service, you should complain to the manager.
The students complained that the test was too hard.
“These shoes are too tight,” he complained.
Recent Examples on the Web
The prevailing wisdom was: If you’re not seriously injured, no need to complain.
—
Marina Khidekel, Contributor, CNBC, 28 Dec. 2024
In many American cities, this perpetuates a cycle by pushing people into surrounding neighborhoods, which causes housed residents to complain more, which leads to more sweeps.
—Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 27 Dec. 2024
And these days, TikTok is laden with videos of people complaining about eggnog’s smell and taste—and with others mixing it into cereal and soda.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Sail Race has featured in Garmin Fenix 7-series watches before, and its omission in the latest generation caused a few folks to complain over on Reddit closer to the Fenix 8’s release.
—Andrew Williams, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for complain 
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Marina Khidekel, Contributor, CNBC, 28 Dec. 2024
In many American cities, this perpetuates a cycle by pushing people into surrounding neighborhoods, which causes housed residents to complain more, which leads to more sweeps.
—Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 27 Dec. 2024
And these days, TikTok is laden with videos of people complaining about eggnog’s smell and taste—and with others mixing it into cereal and soda.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Sail Race has featured in Garmin Fenix 7-series watches before, and its omission in the latest generation caused a few folks to complain over on Reddit closer to the Fenix 8’s release.
—Andrew Williams, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for complain
Dictionary Entries Near complain
Cite this Entry
“Complain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complain. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
complain
verb
com·plain
kəm-ˈplān 
1
: to express grief, pain, or discontent : find fault
complaining about the weather
2
: to accuse someone of wrongdoing
complainer
noun
Medical Definition
complain
intransitive verb
com·plain
kəm-ˈplān
: to speak of one's illness or symptoms
the patient visited the office complaining of weight loss
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