Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 17, 2024 is: whinge \WINJ\ verb

Whinge is a verb used especially in British English to mean "to complain fretfully."

// Everyone at the pub was whinging about the television not working.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whinge)

Examples:

"In his customary forthright manner, [[Prince] Philip](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-duke-of-Edinburgh) wanted to do much more than whinge about the environment. In 1970, he told the Conference on World Pollution: 'It's totally useless for a lot of well-meaning people to wring their hands in conference and to point out the dangers of pollution, or the destruction of the countryside, if no one is willing or capable of taking any action.'" — Harry Mount, The Independent (United Kingdom), 9 Nov. 2023

Did you know?

One of the strengths of the English language is the nuance it exhibits when called upon to supply words for every possible kind of whining and complaining. We English users [vent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vent), we [lament](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lament), we fuss and [grouse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grouse) and [kvetch](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kvetch). We also—especially those of us [across the pond](https://bit.ly/477ooFt)—have a tendency to whinge. Contrary to appearances, whinge is etymologically distinct from [whine](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whine). The latter traces to an Old English verb, hwīnan, meaning "to hum or whir like a speeding object (such as an arrow) through the air." When hwīnan became whine in Middle English, it meant "to wail distressfully"; whine didn't acquire its "complain" sense until the 16th century. Whinge, on the other hand, comes from a different Old English verb, hwinsian, meaning "to wail or moan discontentedly." Whinge retains that original sense today, though nowadays it puts less emphasis on the sound of the complaining and more on the discontentment behind all the whinging and moaning.