moan

moan about (someone or something)

To grumble, gripe, or complain about someone or something to an annoying, excessive degree. My daughter has reached the age where she moans about everything we ask her to do. Well, if you spent more time doing your work and less time moaning about it, you'd be finished a heck of a lot sooner!

See also: moan

moan out

1. To utter loud, prolonged moans. I could hear someone moaning out in the dark, but I couldn't see them. I'll never be able to rid myself of the memory of hearing all those wounded and dying soldiers moaning out on the battlefield.

2. To utter something in a low, guttural, droning voice. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "moan" and "out." He managed to moan out his name before losing consciousness from the blood loss. It's incredibly awkward hearing to the woman next door moaning her lover's name out in the middle of the night.

See also: moan, out

moan with (something)

To utter loud, prolonged moans because of some intense sensation or stimulus. It's incredibly awkward hearing the woman next door moaning with pleasure in the middle of the night. I'll never be able to rid myself of the memory of hearing all those soldiers strewn about on the battlefield moaning with the agony of their injuries.

See also: moan

Moaning Minnie

Primarily heard in UK.

1. informal Someone who is apt to complain. Of course she's not happy with your work—she's always been a real Moaning Minnie. Can you stop being a Moaning Minnie? We'll get there when we get there!

2. military slang A nickname for a mortar weapon, especially the Nebelwerfer, used by German forces during Word War II. I heard Moaning Minnies in my sleep for a long time after I left the battlefield.

See also: Minnie, Moan

piss and moan

To grumble, gripe, or complain excessively and/or in an annoying fashion. My daughter has reached the age where she pisses and moans about everything we ask her to do. Well, if you spent less time pissing and moaning and more time doing your work, you'd be finished a heck of a lot sooner!

See also: and, moan, piss

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

moan about something

to complain about something. What are you moaning about? I am not moaning about anything.

See also: moan

moan something out

to say something in a moan. The injured woman moaned the name of her assailant out. She moaned out the name.

See also: moan, out

moan with something

to groan because of pain or pleasure. The patient moaned with pain and fear. Ken moaned with pleasure.

See also: moan

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.