complain

verb
UK: /kəmˈpleɪn/
US: /kəmˈpleɪn/

  1. To say that you are not happy about something.

    1. I want to complain about the food it was awful. [ ] [ ]
    2. Many customers complain that the service is too slow in restaurants. [ ] [ ]

  2. To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a situation.

    1. He always complains about being tired after work every day. [ ] [ ]
    2. Residents complain of noise from the nearby factory late at night. [ ] [ ]

  3. To make a formal accusation or charge against someone.

    1. She decided to complain to the manager regarding the poor service. [ ] [ ]
    2. The customer wanted to complain about the rude behaviour to the company. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

protest criticize whine object plaint grumble gripe
complain noun

  1. A statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory.

    1. I have a complaint about the noise from the street. [ ] [ ]
    2. We received a complaint from a customer about the bad service. [ ] [ ]

  2. An illness or medical problem.

    1. She has a common complaint, a backache, that bothers her often. [ ] [ ]
    2. He suffers from a chronic complaint that affects his ability to sleep. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "complain" in English means: To say that you are not happy about something., To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a situation., To make a formal accusation or charge against someone..

The phonetic transcription of "complain" is /kəmˈpleɪn/ in British English and /kəmˈpleɪn/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "complain": protest, criticize, whine, object, plaint, grumble, gripe.

Example usage of "complain": "I want to complain about the food it was awful.". More examples on the page.