hail
1to cheer, salute, or greet; welcome.
to acclaim; approve enthusiastically: The crowds hailed the conquerors. They hailed the recent advances in medicine.
to call out to in order to stop, attract attention, ask aid, etc.: to hail a cab.
to call out in order to greet, attract attention, etc.: The people on land hailed as we passed in the night.
a shout or call to attract attention: They answered the hail of the marooned boaters.
a salutation or greeting: a cheerful hail.
the act of hailing.
(used as a salutation, greeting, or acclamation.)
hail from, to have as one's place of birth or residence: Nearly everyone here hails from the Midwest.
Idioms about hail
within hail, within range of hearing; audible: The mother kept her children within hail of her voice.
Origin of hail
1Other words for hail
Other words from hail
- hailer, noun
Other definitions for hail (2 of 2)
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).
a shower or storm of such precipitation.
a shower of anything: a hail of bullets.
to pour down hail (often used impersonally with it as subject): It hailed this afternoon.
to fall or shower as hail: Arrows hailed down on the troops as they advanced.
to pour down on as or like hail: The plane hailed leaflets on the city.
Origin of hail
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hail in a sentence
All hail oat milk, the alternative to dairy that’s cheap and easy to make at homeOvernight Oats.
8 sweet or savory oatmeal recipes to recharge your morning routine | Daniela Galarza | January 6, 2021 | Washington PostThere was no hail of birds like the incident in ’61—they simply washed ashore—but the pelicans exhibited similar symptoms.
Here’s the real story behind Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ | Tom McNamara | December 3, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIn 1987, The Deer Hunter was hailed at the Moscow Film Festival as an important portrayal of the horrors of war.
When Countries Lose Their Shit Over American Movies | Asawin Suebsaeng | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTExperts hailed from disciplines such as agronomy, exercise physiology, endocrinology, metabolomics, and rheology, among others.
Conservative Muslim women in Turkey hailed Esme as a martyr and a symbol of female strength and resistance.
Allah, Mom, and Baklava: Turkish President Uses Mothers and Kids as Political Pawns | Xanthe Ackerman | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
His two collections, The Point (1995) and The Dead Fish Museum (2006), were hailed by critics and pored over by fans.
Charles D’Ambrosio’s X-Ray Vision Is On Full Display In His New Essay Collection. | Steve Almond | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a historic visit in 2012, Barack Obama hailed the “remarkable journey” the country had undertaken.
Hope and Change? Burma Kills a Journalist Before Obama Arrives | Joshua Carroll | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was accustomed, at his return, or issuing from his gates, to be hailed and lackied by the acclamations of the populace.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterWe flocked round the duke, and hailed his first conquest as a promise of perpetual success.
A country girl, riding by a turnpike-road without paying toll, the gate-keeper hailed her and demanded his fee.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousThis fine instrument was installed in May, 1913, and hailed by the people of Denver with great enthusiasm.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerBurland hailed a passing cab, ordered the driver to keep Carlson's car in sight.
British Dictionary definitions for hail (1 of 2)
/ (heɪl) /
small pellets of ice falling from cumulonimbus clouds when there are very strong rising air currents
a shower or storm of such pellets
words, ideas, etc, directed with force and in great quantity: a hail of abuse
a collection of objects, esp bullets, spears, etc, directed at someone with violent force
(intr; with it as subject) to be the case that hail is falling
(often with it as subject) to fall or cause to fall as or like hail: to hail criticism; bad language hailed about him
Origin of hail
1British Dictionary definitions for hail (2 of 2)
/ (heɪl) /
to greet, esp enthusiastically: the crowd hailed the actress with joy
to acclaim or acknowledge: they hailed him as their hero
to attract the attention of by shouting or gesturing: to hail a taxi; to hail a passing ship
(intr foll by from) to be a native (of); originate (in): she hails from India
the act or an instance of hailing
a shout or greeting
distance across which one can attract attention (esp in the phrase within hail)
poetic an exclamation of greeting
Origin of hail
2Derived forms of hail
- hailer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hail
[ hāl ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for hail
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with hail
In addition to the idiom beginning with hail
- hail from
also see:
- within call (hail)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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