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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

Amy asks her and somehow Wilson delivers that line with a lilt that keeps it from sounding corny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

Adam could hear the singing lilt of his speech and yet could detect no word pronounced in a strange manner except perhaps in sharpened t’s and /’s held high on the tongue.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

“Imma make it up as I go,” she lilts, and for all its premeditation, the song swings.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2022

Singer-songwriter Aldous Harding strums an acoustic guitar and lilts in a dulcet soprano — some of the time.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2022

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

In nearly every scene a carol or hap-happy song sung in major key lilts behind the frenzied action.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2019

He doesn’t talk, he lilts, his words taking to the air like birds.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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