bawl
Americanverb (used without object)
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bawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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bawled,
past participle, past
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bawling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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bawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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bawled,
past participle, past
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bawling
present participle
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to utter or proclaim by outcry; shout out.
to bawl one's dissatisfaction;
bawling his senseless ditties to the audience.
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to offer for sale by shouting, as a hawker.
a peddler bawling his wares.
noun
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a loud shout; outcry.
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a period or spell of loud crying or weeping.
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Chiefly Midland and Western U.S. the noise made by a calf.
verb phrase
verb
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(intr) to utter long loud cries, as from pain or frustration; wail
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to shout loudly, as in anger
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bawlsimple
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bawlssimple
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have bawledperfect
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has bawledperfect
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am bawlingprogressive
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are bawlingprogressive
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is bawlingprogressive
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have been bawlingperfect progressive
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has been bawlingperfect progressive
Past
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bawledsimple
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had bawledperfect
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was bawlingprogressive
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were bawlingprogressive
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had been bawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bawl
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin baulāre “to bark,” from Germanic; compare Old Norse baula “to low,” baula “cow,” perhaps a conflation of belja ( see bell 2) with an unrecorded old root bhu-
Explanation
To bawl is to weep or wail loudly. If you tend to bawl at sad movies, you might want to bring some tissues for wiping your tears and blowing your nose. If a baby bawls all night, he doesn't just cry — he sobs and howls. You can also use the verb to talk about other loud sounds, like shouts: "He bawls out orders while we stand there, confused," or even amusement: "She bawls with laughter all through the woman's strange speech." In the 15th century, to bawl was to "bark like a dog," from the Old Norse baula, "to low or moo like a cow."
Vocabulary lists containing bawl
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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Stargirl
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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 moment that mournful violins sound out their familiar melody, I bawl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
The punchline rocks the audience, who bawl with laughter, interspersed with oohing.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2023
"In other ones, you can join in a bit but do you really have to shout and bawl and scream?" he added.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2023
“The next thing you know you’re sitting in a chair ready to bawl your eyes out,” he recalled.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 10, 2021
“Noth-nothing, honey—” Linda whispered, tears forming in her own eyes, while Bloom had his head buried in the thick hair behind her neck, wanting to bawl himself.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Upon hearing the newborn’s piercing bawls, Segawa strode toward the birth register to record the newborn’s details.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2017
‘Chestnuts all ’ot, a penny a score,’ bawls another.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2017
Sort of like a child who throws his lollipop onto the carpet, then bawls because he can’t have it anymore?
From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2016
And then, “My name is Kiiiid,” he bawls, dragging one syllable out for two measures.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 17, 2016
Of course, Jimmy bawls and won’t go another step, and your partner gives you that disdainful, I-should-have-married-the-quarterback look because you haven’t gone 400 yards.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
At the Asian Games in October, Vaishali dragged Praggnanandhaa along on an hour-long walk and bawled to get a bad game out of her head.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2023
Allen joined the Zoom version, and after receiving feedback on her initial performance, “I turned my camera off and bawled my eyes out,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
In Mr. Totti’s final game, generations of Italians shed a tear, and Romans bawled uncontrollably, as the star took a victory lap around the field with Ms. Blasi and his children.
From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2022
“I bawled for days,” Brunner said, after the county last November allocated almost $5 million toward the project.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022
Her Dad said this was because she had bawled so much when she was a baby.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Gus was still bawling, but he was nowhere to be seen.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Stripped of his invulnerability, Homelander wilts into a bawling wimp, begging for his life on his knees.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
“Then we started bawling together. I think that one might end up her favorite.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Oscar Hartland, 16, who played Neil the Baby, left the cast "bawling their eyes out" as he performed Blackbird by The Beatles.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
Usually Mami insisted the baby stay, bawling in her high chair, so the family could have one official meal together like "civilized people."
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
