bleat

American  

[bleet] / blit /

verb (used without object)

• bleats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bleated,
  past participle,  past
• bleating
  present participle

1. to utter the cry of a sheep, goat, or calf or a sound resembling such a cry.

---

verb (used with object)

• bleats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bleated,
  past participle,  past
• bleating
  present participle

1. to give forth with or as if with a bleat.

   He bleated his objections in a helpless rage.

2. to babble; prate.

noun

• bleats
  plural

1. the cry of a sheep, goat, or calf.

2. any similar sound.

   the bleat of distant horns.

3. foolish, complaining talk; babble.

   I listened to their inane bleat all evening.

bleat British  

/ bliːt /

verb

1. (intr) (of a sheep, goat, or calf) to utter its characteristic plaintive cry

2. (intr) to speak with any similar sound

3. to whine; whimper

---

noun

1. the characteristic cry of sheep, goats, and young calves

2. any sound similar to this

3. a weak complaint or whine

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bleater
  noun
• bleating
  noun
• outbleat
  verb (used with object)
• bleatingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bleats
  plural

Participles

• bleating
  present
• bleated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bleat
  simple
• bleats
  simple
• have bleated
  perfect
• has bleated
  perfect
• am bleating
  progressive
• are bleating
  progressive
• is bleating
  progressive
• have been bleating
  perfect progressive
• has been bleating
  perfect progressive

Past

• bleated
  simple
• had bleated
  perfect
• was bleating
  progressive
• were bleating
  progressive
• had been bleating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bleat
  simple
• will have bleated
  perfect
• will be bleating
  progressive
• will have been bleating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bleat

before 1000; Middle English bleten, Old English blǣtan; cognate with Dutch blaten, Old High German blāzen; akin to Latin flēre to weep

Explanation

The sound a lamb or calf makes is a bleat. If you hear tiny bleats coming from your barn, you'll know the new baby goats were born at last. Many animals might bleat, though a bleat is a slightly weak, high-pitched sound, which is why it's typically made by young animals. When baby animals bleat, their mothers naturally go to them to feed or comfort them. You might also describe a human's cry or whine as a bleat, if it's particularly pitiful. The word comes from a Germanic root, and it's imitative of the sound itself.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bleat bleats bleated bleating

Trombones bleat, a tuba bellows, drums are the heart.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

Despite clarinet squeaks and the occasional bleat of a rogue saxophone, almost every student was smiling.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2022

There are those cute rodents that scurry about and delightful little donut-rolling sheep that exist only to bleat at you as you zip by them on Torrent.

From The Verge ● Mar. 11, 2022

The 93rd Academy Awards ended not with a bang but a bleat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2021

His voice was a hellish bleat as he dropped on the ground.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

A heavy quiet hangs over Theofilou's farm in the absence of the bleats from the sheep and the tinkle of their bells.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

The two delight in discovering each other’s cultural differences, even if the alien is occasionally bossy and annoying, say when Rocky bleats “Dirty! Dirty!” upon entering Grace’s astral man cave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

Sixty Nigerian dwarf goats are taking turns crashing their horns against wooden stalls while unleashing a cacophony of bleats, groans, and retching wails that make it nearly impossible to hold a conversation.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 7, 2023

One of the saddest moments in series finale “With Open Eyes” is when Kendall, on the verge of losing the board vote, bleats, “I’m the eldest boy.”

From Salon ● May 29, 2023

Somewhere off in the desert behind Lita’s house, a coyote howls, calling for its friends.As if on cue, the chickens cluck, and one of her fainting goats bleats.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The animals bleated from behind a wooden fence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2025

One of the 19 animals who survived bleated as Raptis grabbed its face to reveal the burns on its ear.

From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2023

A loud, sour-sounding horn bleated, piercing through the noise of the crowd, whose cries coalesced into an accusatory chant: “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”

From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2022

A few miles down the road, a chorus of cattle and sheep mooed and bleated as we talked to Andrew Robert Tudor Davies on the family farm.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2021

It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

The bleating trumpet on the following “Before I Knew” recalls Mark Isham’s work on the horn when he was in Van Morrison’s band in the early ’80s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

The stock market that came in like a roaring lion at the start of the 1920s went out like a bleating lamb at decade’s end.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025

The air thrums with the din of destruction — giant excavators clanking against steel beams, trucks bleating out warning signals as they back into position, green organic material whooshing out of hoses onto finished sites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2025

At the top, a spacious bungalow stands next to a large shed, full of bleating sheep smothering the strains of pop music from a radio.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2024

By afternoon I started to hear the bleating of goats and the mooing of cows.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff