neigh
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
noun
verb
-
(intr) to make a neigh or a similar noise
-
(tr) to utter with a sound like a neigh
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have neighedperfect
-
has neighedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been neighingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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neighssingular 3rd person
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is neighingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am neighingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been neighingperfect progressive
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are neighingprogressive
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neighingparticiple
Past
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had neighedperfect
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neighedsimple
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were neighingprogressive plural
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neighedparticiple
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was neighingprogressive singular
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had been neighingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of neigh
before 1000; Middle English ney ( gh ) en, Old English hnǣgan, cognate with Middle Dutch neyen, Old Saxon hnēgian, Middle High German nēgen, Old High German hneigen, Old Norse hneggja; akin to Old Saxon hnechian; Middle Dutch nighen, Middle Low German nigen, Middle High German nyhen; and, with intrusion in the initial, Old Norse gneggja, Norwegian kneggja. See nag 2
Explanation
The sound that a horse makes is called a neigh. A horse's happy neigh is sometimes a greeting to other horses. You can use neigh to talk about the noise your horse makes, also known as a whinny or a bray. Neigh is also a verb: horses neigh cheerfully or in frustration, and your little brother might like to ride a broomstick wildly around the house and neigh. The word comes from the Old English hnægan, which is most likely imitative of the actual sound of a neigh. In other words, it's an example of onomatopoeia — when a word sounds like what it means.
Vocabulary lists containing neigh
Inside Out & Back Again
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"The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Quippe cui tota communicatio sit per HAY et NEIGH, juxta consilium illud Dominicum, "Fiat omnis communicatio vestra YEA et NAY."
From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 6 Letters 1821-1842 by Lamb, Mary
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
