lull
Americanverb (used with object)
-
lulls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lulled,
past participle, past
-
lulling
present participle
-
to put to sleep or rest by soothing means.
to lull a child by singing.
-
to soothe or quiet.
-
to give or lead to feel a false sense of safety; cause to be less alert, aware, or watchful.
verb (used without object)
-
lulls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lulled,
past participle, past
-
lulling
present participle
noun
-
lulls
plural
-
a temporary calm, quiet, or stillness.
a lull in a storm.
-
a soothing sound.
the lull of falling waters.
-
a pacified or stupefied condition.
The drug had put him in a lull.
verb
-
to soothe (a person or animal) by soft sounds or motions (esp in the phrase lull to sleep )
-
to calm (someone or someone's fears, suspicions, etc), esp by deception
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lullsimple
-
lullssimple
-
have lulledperfect
-
has lulledperfect
-
am lullingprogressive
-
are lullingprogressive
-
is lullingprogressive
-
have been lullingperfect progressive
-
has been lullingperfect progressive
Past
-
lulledsimple
-
had lulledperfect
-
was lullingprogressive
-
were lullingprogressive
-
had been lullingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lull
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lullen, of expressive origin; compare Swedish lulla, German lullen, Latin lallāre “to sing a lullaby”
Explanation
See lull, think "calm." It could be the noun form (like "the lull before the storm") or the verb: one can lull someone by calming them (as in lulling a baby to sleep with a lullaby). The noun lull is often used in relation to a storm, but the term has a broader meaning as well. Lull can be used to describe any temporary period of calm or diminished activity, like the quiet time before the lunch rush in a restaurant or the brief period of tranquility before the doors open for a pre-Christmas sale. The word's verb form means "to soothe or to make someone feel relaxed." When used as a verb lull can turn deceptive, and it is often used to convey a false sense of security.
Vocabulary lists containing lull
List 2
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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The Cay
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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.
See Examples For:
The seeming lull in job postings and hiring likely stems in part from the five-month-old conflict with Iran and the spike in oil prices.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Mediators are using a lull in the fighting to patch together a quick fix to reopen the strait, hoping it paves the way for substantive talks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The lull followed intense immigration raids in January and the tail end of 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Instead of a summer lull, the meeting promises one last clash between the hawks and doves before anyone reaches for the sunscreen," said Brzeski.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
After a brief lull at the start of Nixon’s presidency, the war protests had been growing lately.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The 19-year-old, sporting a budding beard, usually operates from home, filling lulls by watching the TV show Criminal Minds or honing his drone-flying skills on a simulator.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
In marking these tragic anniversaries, let’s applaud the liberty and prosperity that lulls us, while vowing to resist the totalitarian threats menacing us, be they overseas or next door.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
The good news is that there will be lulls between the successive weather systems, with sparkling sunshine and crisper conditions.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
As families gather for the holidays, lulls in the festivities provide a calm, unhurried opportunity to have heartfelt talks.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
The air smells like wet grain and hedge trimmings; in the lulls between their footfalls, she can hear a deep, nearly subsonic roar.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
After an initial splurge on travel and entertainment, retirees are often lulled into a sense of complacency because their spending tends to decrease during the first decade after leaving the workforce.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
I fall asleep in Salmon’s bunk bed, lulled by Dragon Masters 5: Song of the Poison Dragon.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
They are lulled into a smug confidence that his threats will always be toothless bluster.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026
Even if we’re intellectually prepared, there’s a risk that years of relative peace has lulled us into a false sense of security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
Its soft hooting was like a song, and as it grew rhythmic it calmed the moonlit hills and lulled us to sleep.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
And yet, at 80 mph, wind noise is reduced to a lulling hush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
It’s almost symphonic, carrying on for almost seven minutes before descending into a lulling silence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
So it was surprising that Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, started hosting a YouTube show, the purpose of which appears to be lulling viewers to sleep.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2025
But the voice in their ear lulling them to sleep is not from Mr. Stewart, who died in 1997.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
Over time, through such innocuous routines, Seacrest accomplished the first part of his mission: lulling KGB surveillance teams into dropping their guard.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
