bawl

American  

[bawl] / bɔl /

verb (used without object)

1. to cry or wail lustily.

   Synonyms:

   wail, bellow, roar, squall, yowl, howl

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verb (used with object)

1. to utter or proclaim by outcry; shout out.

   to bawl one's dissatisfaction;

   bawling his senseless ditties to the audience.

2. to offer for sale by shouting, as a hawker.

   a peddler bawling his wares.

noun

1. a loud shout; outcry.

2. a period or spell of loud crying or weeping.

3. Chiefly Midland and Western U.S. the noise made by a calf.

verb phrase

1. bawl out to scold vociferously; reprimand or scold vigorously.

   Your father will bawl you out when he sees this mess.

bawl British  

/ bɔːl /

verb

1. (intr) to utter long loud cries, as from pain or frustration; wail

2. to shout loudly, as in anger

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noun

1. a loud shout or cry

Other Word Forms

• bawler noun
• bawling noun
• outbawl verb (used with object)

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 ( bell ² ) with an unrecorded old root bhu-

Example Sentences

Box of Kleenex at arm’s reach in case I started bawling.

From Literature

I'm sick of watching Tav lose it and start shouting and bawling at them all.

From BBC

“Then we started bawling together. I think that one might end up her favorite.”

From Los Angeles Times

Oscar Hartland, 16, who played Neil the Baby, left the cast "bawling their eyes out" as he performed Blackbird by The Beatles.

From BBC

But the book comes superbly to life in its character sketches, its bawling dialogue and its rugged sense of place.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• holler