Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
- Irritable; easily upset; angry; tending to complain. [From 1895]
- His boss gets grouchy when deadlines draw near.
- 1911, Jack London, The Abysmal Brute, Chapter III,
- Not that young Pat had a nasty temper, or was grouchy as his father had feared.
- 1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, Chapter XXXI,
- He went in to mumble that he was "sorry, didn't mean to be grouchy," and to inquire as to her interest in movies.
- 1922, Henry William Fischer, Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field, Author's Preface,
- In Berlin I once heard Susie Clemens—ill-fated, talented girl, who died so young—say to her father: "Grouchy again! They do say that you can be funny when company is around—too bad that you don't consider Henry Fisher company."
irritable; easily upset; angry; tending to complain