hail

¹ American  

[heyl] / heɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to cheer, salute, or greet; welcome.

2. to acclaim; approve enthusiastically.

   The crowds hailed the conquerors. They hailed the recent advances in medicine.

   Synonyms:

   extol, proclaim, laud, exalt, honor, applaud, acclaim

3. to call out to in order to stop, attract attention, ask aid, etc..

   to hail a cab.

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verb (used without object)

1. to call out in order to greet, attract attention, etc..

   The people on land hailed as we passed in the night.

noun

1. a shout or call to attract attention.

   They answered the hail of the marooned boaters.

2. a salutation or greeting.

   a cheerful hail.

3. the act of hailing.

interjection

1. (used as a salutation, greeting, or acclamation.)

verb phrase

1. hail from to have as one's place of birth or residence.

   Nearly everyone here hails from the Midwest.

idioms

1. within hail, within range of hearing; audible.

   The mother kept her children within hail of her voice.

hail ² American  

[heyl] / heɪl /

noun

1. showery precipitation in the form of irregular pellets or balls of ice more than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) in diameter, falling from a cumulonimbus cloud (distinguished from sleet).

2. a shower or storm of such precipitation.

3. a shower of anything.

   a hail of bullets.

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verb (used without object)

1. to pour down hail (often used impersonally with it as subject).

   It hailed this afternoon.

2. to fall or shower as hail.

   Arrows hailed down on the troops as they advanced.

verb (used with object)

1. to pour down on as or like hail.

   The plane hailed leaflets on the city.

hail ¹ British  

/ heɪl /

noun

1. small pellets of ice falling from cumulonimbus clouds when there are very strong rising air currents

2. a shower or storm of such pellets

3. words, ideas, etc, directed with force and in great quantity

   a hail of abuse

4. a collection of objects, esp bullets, spears, etc, directed at someone with violent force

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verb

1. (intr; with it as subject) to be the case that hail is falling

2. to fall or cause to fall as or like hail

   to hail criticism

   bad language hailed about him

hail ² British  

/ heɪl /

verb

1. to greet, esp enthusiastically

   the crowd hailed the actress with joy

2. to acclaim or acknowledge

   they hailed him as their hero

3. to attract the attention of by shouting or gesturing

   to hail a taxi

   to hail a passing ship

4. to be a native (of); originate (in)

   she hails from India

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noun

1. the act or an instance of hailing

2. a shout or greeting

3. distance across which one can attract attention (esp in the phrase within hail )

1. poetic an exclamation of greeting

hail Scientific  

/ hāl /

1. Precipitation in the form of rounded pellets of ice and hard snow that usually falls during thunderstorms. Hail forms when raindrops are blown up and down within a cloud, passing repeatedly through layers of warm and freezing air and collecting layers of ice until they are too heavy for the winds to keep them from falling.

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hail Cultural  

1. Pellets of ice that form when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops to high altitudes, where the water freezes and then falls back to Earth. Hailstones as large as baseballs have been recorded. Hail can damage crops and property.

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hail More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hail

• within call (hail)

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Other Word Forms

• hailer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hail¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb heilen, hailen, derivative of hail “healthy, sound,” from Old Norse heill; cognate with Old English hǣl; see heal, wassail

Origin of hail²

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun hail, haiel, ail, Old English hæg(e)l, hagol; cognate with German Hagel, Old Norse hagl

Explanation

Hail is when chunks of ice fall from the sky. Also, to hail someone is to greet them or say good things about them. Or it can be a way to tell people of your homeland, as in: "I hail from the Moon." If twenty third-graders all sent spit-balls up in the air at once, the spit-balls would then hail down on the class. If a presidential candidate has an idea for fixing the nation's woes, many people will hail that idea. If you see your former prom date walking down the street, you may want to hail them to say hello — or perhaps you'll want to hail a cab and get out of there as fast as you can.

Example Sentences

His father's family hail from Grenada and it was a trip to the Caribbean in 2007, around the time West Indies hosted the World Cup, that sparked Gay's love of cricket.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

The next 50 most-expensive counties include areas of Oklahoma and Texas where hail, wildfires or tornadoes pose the biggest threat from nature.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

Trump then went on to hail Elizabeth, who died in 2022, as a "very, very special woman who is very greatly missed on both sides of that mighty Atlantic."

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

The writers room is stacked with people who, like Plaza and Wengert, hail from the Upright Citizens Brigade improv world.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

I don’t know if Ray had to shout because of the hail, or because he didn’t think I was listening.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• acclaim
• acknowledge
• applaud
• cheer
• commend
• greet
• praise
• recognize
• recommend
• welcome