croon

American  

[kroon] / krun /

verb (used without object)

1. to sing or hum in a soft, soothing voice.

   to croon to a baby.

2. to sing in an evenly modulated, slightly exaggerated manner.

   Popular singers began crooning in the 1930s.

3. to utter a low murmuring sound.

4. Scot. and North England.

   1. to bellow; low.

   2. to lament; mourn.

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verb (used with object)

1. to sing (a song) in a crooning manner.

2. to lull by singing or humming to in a soft, soothing voice.

   to croon a child to sleep.

noun

1. the act or sound of crooning.

croon British  

/ kruːn /

verb

1. to sing or speak in a soft low tone

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noun

1. a soft low singing or humming

Other Word Forms

• crooner noun
• crooningly adverb

Etymology

Origin of croon

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cronen, from Middle Dutch: “to lament”

Example Sentences

There were fireworks, there was a flyover, there was Will Ferrell screaming and Keith Williams Jr. crooning and four months of cheers unleashed by fans wearing championship belts and howling grins.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the radio, Bing Crosby is crooning, Bob Hope is joking, and news of the war — against Hitler, against Japan — keeps sizzling and crackling across the dial.

From Los Angeles Times

He starts crooning, “Caterpillar, caterpillar, can you find my caterpillar?”

From Literature

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

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

Related Words

• hum
• murmur
• wail