bawl

[ bawl ]

/ bɔl /

verb (used without object)

to cry or wail lustily.

verb (used with object)

to utter or proclaim by outcry; shout out: to bawl one's dissatisfaction; bawling his senseless ditties to the audience.

to offer for sale by shouting, as a hawker: a peddler bawling his wares.

noun

a loud shout; outcry.

a period or spell of loud crying or weeping.

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

Verb Phrases

bawl out, Informal. to scold vociferously; reprimand or scold vigorously: Your father will bawl you out when he sees this mess.

Words nearby bawl

bawcock, bawd, bawdry, bawdy, bawdyhouse, bawl, bawl out, bawn, bawneen, bax, baxter

Origin of bawl

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin baulāre to bark < Germanic; compare Old Norse baula to low, baula cow, perhaps a conflation of belja (see bell²) with an old root *bhu-

SYNONYMS FOR bawl

1 howl, yowl, squall, roar, bellow.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bawl ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM bawl

bawl·er, nounout·bawl, verb (used with object)

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bawl

bald balled bawledball bawl bowl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for bawl

I can't afford to feed useless boys, and it's no use to bawl about it.
In Pawn|Ellis Parker Butler
They streamed down his face and his chin and lip quivered, and then he opened his mouth and started to bawl like a baby.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
Hurley'll prob'ly rave round an' tell ye ye can't, an' bawl ye out, an' raise a rookus generally, but jest stick to it.
Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps|James B. Hendryx
The only human sounds that the Parrot could bawl out were, "Come, let us be men!"
Andersen's Fairy Tales|Hans Christian Andersen

I gave him a lick on the nose that made him bawl like a calf.
A Texas Cow Boy|Chas. A. Siringo

British Dictionary definitions for bawl

bawl

/ (bɔːl) /

verb

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

to shout loudly, as in anger

noun

a loud shout or cry

Derived forms of bawl

bawler, nounbawling, noun

Word Origin for bawl

C15: probably from Icelandic baula to low; related to Medieval Latin baulāre to bark, Swedish böla to low; all of imitative origin

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

bawl

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Verb Phrases

Words related to bawl

Words nearby bawl

Origin of bawl

SYNONYMS FOR bawl

OTHER WORDS FROM bawl

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bawl

Examples from the Web for bawl

British Dictionary definitions for bawl

verb

noun

Derived forms of bawl

Word Origin for bawl