lilt
Americannoun
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rhythmic swing or cadence.
-
a lilting song or tune.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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(in music) a jaunty rhythm
-
a buoyant motion
verb
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(of a melody) to have a lilt
-
to move in a buoyant manner
Other Word Forms
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
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."
Vocabulary lists containing lilt
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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.
He speaks softly, with a lilt he picked up when his family moved to Australia from Lebanon.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
In the second cast, Christine Shevchenko fell far short of Ms. Teuscher’s finesse, but she essayed the opening “Preghiera” movement with more of its requisite lilt and shimmer than Ms. Teuscher did.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Australian is also uniquely incompatible with the American lilt, she said.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
At the same time, there is a sort of Shakespearean lilt to much of of it; many lines, in my random examination, resolve into iambic pentameter.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
Her Igbo words had a teasing lilt, but the steeliness in her tone created a knot in my throat.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
