caterwaul
- to utter long wailing cries, as cats in rutting time.
- to utter a similar sound; howl or screech.
- to quarrel like cats.
- the cry of a cat in rutting time.
- any similar sound.
Origin of caterwaul
Synonyms for caterwaul
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for caterwaul
bicker, wail, screech, bawl, squall, yowl, yell, shriek, scream, howl, quarrelExamples from the Web for caterwaul
Contemporary Examples of caterwaul
And so it happens that the people who caterwaul about America being weak in the world become the very people who make it weaker.
Historical Examples of caterwaul
At once she began to meouw and caterwaul with all her might.
Dutch Fairy Tales for Young FolksWilliam Elliot Griffis
It reached the edge of the pool, spread out all its legs with a caterwaul of despair, and went headlong into the water.
Charlie to the RescueR.M. Ballantyne
We caterwaul and scratch and steal, just as human beings in our situation would take to drink.
DaisyMiranda Eliot Swan
Caterwaul, kat′ėr-wawl, n. the shriek or cry emitted by the cat when in heat.
Consequently, what does your baby do but betake itself to a practical study of the caterwaul!
caterwaul
- to make a yowling noise, as a cat on heat
- a shriek or yell made by or sounding like a cat on heat
Word Origin for caterwaul
Word Origin and History for caterwaul
late 14c., caterwrawen, perhaps from Low German katerwaulen "cry like a cat," or formed in English from cater, from Middle Dutch cater "tomcat" + Middle English waul "to yowl," apparently from Old English *wrag, *wrah "angry," of uncertain origin but all somehow imitative. Related: Caterwauled; caterwauling.