dispute has rumbled on for years.

[moonlike]

Hi
The text is about running in the rain.
........it's pointless to run, ending a dispute that has rumbled on for years.
My interpretation was that 'people argued for years on end whether it's a good idea to run in the rain or not and now that it 's been proven wrong (running is of no use), all those disputes have been terminated.

Does 'rumble' means continue a clash or dispute here?

P.S.I looked it up in my dictionary and some online dictionaries and I faced these definition:
rumble - definition of rumble by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Rumble - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Thanks a lot.

 

[billmcd]

Hi
The text is about running in the rain.
........it's pointless to run, ending a dispute that has rumbled on for years.
My interpretation was that 'people argued for years on end whether it's a good idea to run in the rain or not and now that it 's been proven wrong (running is of no use), all those disputes have been terminated.

Does 'rumble' means continue a clash or dispute here?

P.S.I looked it up in my dictionary and some online dictionaries and I faced these definition:
rumble - definition of rumble by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Rumble - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Thanks a lot.

I could accept and understand (perhaps in a poetic or perceptive sense) use of "rumbled" in the context presented, but I would prefer to use "rambled" which is defined in one way by one of your sources as "to speak or write at length and with many digressions".

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, "rumbling on" is a well-used and understood phrase. It gives the idea of a deep underground rumbling, like an earthquake sound, or even distant thunder so there is a sort of threat implied in it, which is why it's frequently associated with arguments or disputes etc.

 

[BobK]

:up: It's the sort of annoying background noise you get if you live near a motorway. (Rumbling is the standard collocation with thunder - so it's a low-pitched and threatening noise.

b