croon
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to sing (a song) in a crooning manner.
-
to lull by singing or humming to in a soft, soothing voice.
to croon a child to sleep.
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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croonsimple
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croonssimple
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have croonedperfect
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has croonedperfect
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am crooningprogressive
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are crooningprogressive
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is crooningprogressive
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have been crooningperfect progressive
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has been crooningperfect progressive
Past
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croonedsimple
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had croonedperfect
-
was crooningprogressive
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were crooningprogressive
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had been crooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of croon
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cronen, from Middle Dutch: “to lament”
Explanation
To croon is to sing a soft or emotional song. A father might croon a lullaby to his baby as she falls asleep. Elvis Presley was known to croon to the ladies. The verb croon is originally a Scottish word, from the Middle Dutch root kronen, "to lament or mourn." When you croon, you hum or sing in a soft, low voice, like your heart is breaking. You might croon to your child or sweetheart, or maybe you croon in the shower. In the 1930s and 40s, a "crooner" was a singer who was known for specializing in sentimental jazz songs.
Vocabulary lists containing croon
"The People Could Fly," Vocabulary from the folk tale
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes
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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:
In the opening track “Lugares,” Selines meets her acoustic guitar strumming with a velvety croon, singing of leaping into the unknown — despite understanding the difficulties that will come from leaving home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Kuo would croon standards like “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Later, he switches up the lyrics to “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” to croon, “Do you gaze at your forehead and wish you had hair?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Hearing Nat King Cole croon about chestnuts roasting on an open fire dozens of times is one of the many reminders that fireplaces are luxuries most of us don’t have.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
As dangerous as the Chimaera, and as rare, the Manticore is reputed to croon softly as it devours its prey.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Now, as I ride through Koreatown, Alicia Keys croons, “Everything’s gonna be all right.”
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
For his second role as Ingrid’s onscreen boyfriend, Condon resurrects a discarded number from the original musical where Luna croons about being “An Everyday Man,” his warm voice perfectly imperfect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
As Sammie croons, he’s joined by an electric guitarist playing like Jimi Hendrix but dressed like a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.
From Salon ● May 2, 2025
A 92-year-old who croons contemporary pop hits, garnering more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, says he feels "very, very fortunate".
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2025
“Say hello, Dixie,” he croons, “say hello to Miss Eugenia.”
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
“All I know is you need someone, in the by and by, you need someone who’s gonna cry for you,” Bird crooned, eyes closed, voice nearly breaking with emphasis on the aptly titled “Need Someone.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
If you can make it there, as Frank Sinatra crooned, you’ll make it anywhere.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Diplomatic wheels, it seemed, were in motion, even as the lack of detail left many around the world with suspicious minds, as Elvis once crooned.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
They have crooned to covers of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, danced in the style of K-pop stars and pretended to have beef with other boy bands—and Katy Perry, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
It isn’t up to you any longer, little lynx, Tante Heleen’s voice crooned in her head.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
For many, the waterfront that Lebanese singer Fairouz immortalised in 1961 -- crooning about "the coast of Alexandria, coast of love" -- is no more.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The label is fitting in part on a literal level because Gunn ends his movie on Superman’s smiling face with the song “Punkrocker,” which features Iggy Pop crooning, “I’m a punkrocker, yes I am.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
No amount of Kate Bush’s heroic crooning will save them.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2025
At a Moscow concert hall, Shohruhmirzo Ganiyev is crooning about love and his motherland, Uzbekistan.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
At first no one notices them—everyone is distracted by the bounce house, frisbee tossing, and the country singer crooning about the good ol’ USA.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
