Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

grotty

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.01 in modern English

Syllables
grot-ty
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Unpleasant, dirty, slovenly or offensive.

British usage; Slang

adj

Alternative form of groaty.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Clipping of grotesque + -y. Piecewise doublet of grody, the American equivalent. Compare Middle English groti, grooti (“slimy, muddy”), from Old English grotiġ (“earthy, dirty”) (modern dialectal English groaty, Scots grotty), which is equivalent to groat + -y. Compare also Scottish Gaelic grod (“rotten, lousy, terrible”), Middle Irish grot (“bitter, sour”). Originated or popularised by the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, starring the Beatles and written by Alun Owen.

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

grottier (comparative) grottiest (superlative) more grotty (comparative) most grotty (superlative)

Derived Forms

grottily grottiness

Frequently Paired Words

grody

Synonyms

grody gross gro

Rhymes With

potty scotty hottie spotty knotty dotty biscotti yachty zloty totty shotty botty

Questions

What does grotty mean?
Unpleasant, dirty, slovenly or offensive.
Where does grotty come from?
Clipping of grotesque + -y. Piecewise doublet of grody, the American equivalent. Compare Middle English groti, grooti (“slimy, muddy”), from Old English grotiġ (“earthy, dirty”) (modern dialectal English groaty, Scots grotty), which is equivalent to groat + -y. Compare also Scottish Gaelic grod (“rotten, lousy, terrible”), Middle Irish grot (“bitter, sour”). Originated or popularised by the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, starring the Beatles and written by Alun Owen.

How to pronounce grotty

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “grotty”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “grotty”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “grotty” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.