sing

[ sing ]
See synonyms for sing on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),sang [sang] /sæŋ/ or, often, sung [suhng]; /sʌŋ/; sung; sing·ing.
  1. to utter words or sounds in succession with musical modulations of the voice; vocalize melodically.

  2. to perform a song or voice composition: She promised to sing for us.

  1. to produce melodious sounds, usually high in pitch, as certain birds, insects, etc.: The nightingale sang in the tree.

  2. to compose poetry: Keats sang briefly but gloriously.

  3. to tell about or praise someone or something in verse or song: He sang of the warrior's prowess.

  4. to admit of being sung, as verses: This lyric sings well.

  5. to give out a continuous ringing, whistling, murmuring, burbling, or other euphonious sound, as a teakettle or a brook.

  6. to make a short whistling, ringing, or whizzing sound: The bullet sang past his ear.

  7. (of an electrical amplifying system) to produce an undesired self-sustained oscillation.

  8. to have the sensation of a ringing or humming sound, as the ears.

  9. Slang. to confess or act as an informer; squeal.

verb (used with object),sang [sang] /sæŋ/ or, often, sung [suhng]; /sʌŋ/; sung; sing·ing.
  1. to utter with musical modulations of the voice, as a song.

  2. to escort or accompany with singing.

  1. to proclaim enthusiastically.

  2. to bring, send, put, etc., with or by singing: She sang the baby to sleep.

  3. to chant or intone: to sing mass.

  4. to tell or praise in verse or song.

noun
  1. the act or performance of singing.

  2. a gathering or meeting of persons for the purpose of singing: a community sing.

  1. a singing, ringing, or whistling sound, as of a bullet.

Verb Phrases
  1. sing out, Informal. to call in a loud voice; shout: They lost their way in the cavern and sang out for help.

Origin of sing

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English singen, Old English singan; cognate with Dutch zingen, German singen, Old Norse syngva, Gothic siggwan

Other words from sing

  • sing·a·ble, adjective
  • sing·a·bil·i·ty, sing·a·ble·ness, noun
  • sing·ing·ly, adverb
  • mis·sing, verb, mis·sang, mis·sung, mis·sing·ing.
  • un·sing·a·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with sing

Other definitions for sing. (2 of 2)

sing.

abbreviation
  1. singular.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sing in a sentence

  • Strive to speak or sing fluently without breaking the quality of tone used.

    Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge Southwick
  • While half of Christendom sing “On earth peace, good will toward men,” the other half sing, “On earth peace to men of good will.”

    Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel Conway
  • I suppose the hammer falls back more slowly from the string, and that makes the tone sing longer.

  • He sat down and played it phrase by phrase, pausing between each measure, to let it "sing."

  • Flocks of birds seemed to sing through the air, striking against the telegraph wires.

    A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward

British Dictionary definitions for sing (1 of 2)

sing

/ (sɪŋ) /


verbsings, singing, sang or sung
  1. to produce or articulate (sounds, words, a song, etc) with definite and usually specific musical intonation

  2. (when intr, often foll by to) to perform (a song) to the accompaniment (of): to sing to a guitar

  1. (intr foll by of) to tell a story or tale in song (about): I sing of a maiden

  2. (intr foll by to) to address a song (to) or perform a song (for)

  3. (intr) to perform songs for a living, as a professional singer

  4. (intr) (esp of certain birds and insects) to utter calls or sounds reminiscent of music

  5. (when intr, usually foll by of) to tell (something) or give praise (to someone), esp in verse: the poet who sings of the Trojan dead

  6. (intr) to make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound: the kettle is singing; the arrow sang past his ear

  7. (intr) (of the ears) to experience a continuous ringing or humming sound

  8. (tr) (esp in church services) to chant or intone (a prayer, psalm, etc)

  9. (tr) to bring to a given state by singing: to sing a child to sleep

  10. (intr) slang, mainly US to confess or act as an informer

  11. (intr) Australian (in Aboriginal witchcraft) to bring about a person's death by incantation. The same power can sometimes be used beneficently

noun
  1. informal an act or performance of singing

  2. a ringing or whizzing sound, as of bullets

Origin of sing

1
Old English singan; related to Old Norse syngja to sing, Gothic siggwan, Old High German singan

sing

See ring 2

Derived forms of sing

  • singable, adjective
  • singing, adjective, noun

British Dictionary definitions for sing. (2 of 2)

sing.

abbreviation for
  1. singular

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012