wail

1 of 2

verb

wailed; wailing; wails

intransitive verb

1
: to express sorrow audibly : lament
2
: to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry
3
: to express dissatisfaction plaintively : complain

transitive verb

1
: to say or express plaintively
wailed that her cake was ruined
2
archaic : bewail
wailer noun

wail

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a usually prolonged cry or sound expressing grief or pain
b
: a sound suggestive of wailing
the wail of an air-raid siren
c
: a querulous expression of grievance : complaint
2
: the act or practice of wailing : loud lamentation

Examples of wail in a Sentence

Verb The child started wailing after she stumbled and fell. A saxophone wailed in the background. “No! I don't want to go!” he wailed. She wailed that the vacation was ruined. Noun the wail of a siren a prolonged wail arose from every corner of the city as the victims of the earthquake were unearthed from the rubble
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The lullaby wails and fading bells imbue the track with a layer of sunken whimsy — like the moment a child realizes Santa isn’t real and nobody lives forever. Peter A. Berry, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 Jasmine wails loudly in devastation, which both her microphone, and the ears of other cast members rooms away, pick up. Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024 Martin has a gorgeous, rich tone that pairs well with the wailing guitars and plucky rhythm that comprise ZJ Chrome’s riddim. Kyle Denis, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024 Phish bring groove, wailing guitar to friendly Ruoff show Phish in Indianapolis: How to get tickets A ticket request process is underway at bit.ly/3IeRNU9 and ends March 11 at noon. The Indianapolis Star, 27 Feb. 2024 In the calls, which were released by the county to the Miami Herald this week, people can be heard yelling and wailing in the background as the bystanders spoke with dispatchers describing the harrowing scene taking place in front of the High Noon Resort. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024 There was Ringo Starr, wailing away on his Ludwig Downbeat oyster black pearl drum kit. Adam Bell, Charlotte Observer, 22 Feb. 2024 The wailing, breathless clarinet solo that kicks things off. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 All the crying All these negative emotions were compounded the moment our daughter began wailing at the top of her lungs in the first few nights of sleep training. Tiffany Leigh, Parents, 4 Feb. 2024
Noun
In Las Vegas, the cacophony of voices, music, ringing slot machines and car horns that typically pulsed through the Las Vegas Strip was replaced by silence, the chirps of birds and the wails of sirens. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 But then, this community has more reason than most to fear the wails of mourning women. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2024 Rose exhales the unworldly wail of the very young, Helen lies down with Rose at her breast. Audrey Wollen, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2023 With no noise to cover the wails of the stock one, customers would hear the horrors of engineering. Alex Goy, Ars Technica, 31 July 2023 The Boy and the Heron opens with a sharp wail of a siren — something has gone wrong, something bad. Vulture, 24 Jan. 2024 His soaring, shredding wails coil time and sound upside down until Eric A’s basslines lift us over the line of threat and into the killing zone where Dave Navarro’s guitar detonates. Matt Thompson, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2024 Cue more sofa wails and pitying looks at family gatherings when relatives ask you about your love life. Olivia Petter, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2023 Her mother’s piercing wails and the way her body crumpled in grief on the carpet left a lasting mark on the 9-year-old girl and became a driving force for her lifelong opposition to executions. Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 2 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English weilen, waylen, perhaps modification (influenced by Middle English weilawei wellaway) of Old Norse væla, vāla to wail; akin to Old Norse vei woe — more at woe

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of wail was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near wail

Cite this Entry

“Wail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wail. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wail

1 of 2 verb
1
: to express sorrow by mournful cries : lament
2
: to make a sound like a mournful cry
3
: to express dissatisfaction : complain
wailer noun

wail

2 of 2 noun
1
: a long cry or sound of grief or pain
2
: a sound like a wail
the wail of a siren

More from Merriam-Webster on wail

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