lilt

American  

[lilt] / lɪlt /

noun

• lilts
  plural

1. rhythmic swing or cadence.

2. a lilting song or tune.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to sing or play in a light, tripping, or rhythmic manner.

lilt British  

/ lɪlt /

noun

1. (in music) a jaunty rhythm

2. a buoyant motion

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verb

1. (of a melody) to have a lilt

2. to move in a buoyant manner

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• liltingness
  noun
• lilting
  adjective
• liltingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lilts
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lilt

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb lilte, lulte “to sound an alarm; lift up (one's voice)”; perhaps akin to Dutch, Low German lul “pipe,” lullen “to lull,” Norwegian lilla “to sing,” of imitative origin

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Explanation

Use the word lilt to describe a swinging kind of tempo in music. You might love old fashioned big band jazz because of its distinctive lilt. Upbeat, rhythmic music of any kind has a lilt, and you can also describe certain ways of speaking as having a lilt. In this case, the lilt is either the rhythm of a person's speech, or her accent — an Irish accent is often called an "Irish lilt." Lilt can be a verb, too, as when you lilt out a song. The earliest meaning of the word was "to lift up one's voice," from the West Midlands lulten, "to sound an alarm."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lilt lilts

With a soft northern lilt and easygoing style, Burnham comes across far more likable or relatable than any British leader since Boris Johnson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

I had just begun to lilt toward sleep when my phone buzzed.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Australian is also uniquely incompatible with the American lilt, she said.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

But the result was thin, devoid of intonation or personality, and it had an American lilt.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025

Voices with the pulled vowels and cut lilt of my father.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

With that, “Hacks” goes out on a Seinfeldian high note, cutting to Deborah and Ava happily strolling the Vegas strip on a sun-soaked day as a Barbra Streisand-Judy Garland duet lilts behind them.

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

“Life’s so fun, life’s so fun,” Gavin lilts on “Silk Chiffon,” which features Phoebe Bridgers and has caromed across TikTok, soundtracking cookie dough tutorials, hangovers and odes to crushes.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2022

But it’s the dusky shadings and subtle Southern lilts that imbue emotional color and make other people’s songs momentarily her own.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2021

In a career spanning four decades, Washington instructed actors to speak not just in national dialects but also in regional and local lilts, even historical ones.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2021

But I, Lyow, choose Lay-making, of loud lilts which linger.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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