to utter words or sounds in succession with musical modulations of the voice; vocalize melodically.
to perform a song or voice composition.
She promised to sing for us.
to produce melodious sounds, usually high in pitch, as certain birds, insects, etc..
The nightingale sang in the tree.
to compose poetry.
Keats sang briefly but gloriously.
to tell about or praise someone or something in verse or song.
He sang of the warrior's prowess.
to admit of being sung, as verses.
This lyric sings well.
to give out a continuous ringing, whistling, murmuring, burbling, or other euphonious sound, as a teakettle or a brook.
to make a short whistling, ringing, or whizzing sound.
The bullet sang past his ear.
(of an electrical amplifying system) to produce an undesired self-sustained oscillation.
to have the sensation of a ringing or humming sound, as the ears.
Slang. to confess or act as an informer; squeal.
to utter with musical modulations of the voice, as a song.
to escort or accompany with singing.
to proclaim enthusiastically.
to bring, send, put, etc., with or by singing.
She sang the baby to sleep.
to chant or intone.
to sing mass.
to tell or praise in verse or song.
the act or performance of singing.
a gathering or meeting of persons for the purpose of singing.
a community sing.
a singing, ringing, or whistling sound, as of a bullet.
to produce or articulate (sounds, words, a song, etc) with definite and usually specific musical intonation
to perform (a song) to the accompaniment (of)
to sing to a guitar
to tell a story or tale in song (about)
I sing of a maiden
to address a song (to) or perform a song (for)
(intr) to perform songs for a living, as a professional singer
(intr) (esp of certain birds and insects) to utter calls or sounds reminiscent of music
to tell (something) or give praise (to someone), esp in verse
the poet who sings of the Trojan dead
(intr) to make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound
the kettle is singing
the arrow sang past his ear
(intr) (of the ears) to experience a continuous ringing or humming sound
(tr) (esp in church services) to chant or intone (a prayer, psalm, etc)
(tr) to bring to a given state by singing
to sing a child to sleep
slang (intr) to confess or act as an informer
(intr) (in Aboriginal witchcraft) to bring about a person's death by incantation. The same power can sometimes be used beneficently
informal an act or performance of singing
a ringing or whizzing sound, as of bullets
First recorded before 900; Middle English singen, Old English singan; cognate with Dutch zingen, German singen, Old Norse syngva, Gothic siggwan
When you sing, you make music with your voice: "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti..." You get it. Many of us sing along to the radio, sing lullabys to babies, or sing happy birthday to our friends. Sometimes voices are so loud and musical that you can use sing even when they're not literally singing: "She waves and sings out a cheerful, 'Hello!'" In poetry, to sing is to honor or praise, as Walt Whitman does in "Song of Myself:" "I celebrate myself and sing myself."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Write them out, sing them, move your hips and open your chest while speaking them aloud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
I can’t sing if I have had any dairy, so no dairy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
On “Hello Monserrat” you sing: “I think about Botox/And experimental music/My mother and the loneliness/Of an international tour.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"Tonight we sing about love," he told the crowd after Treasure, before introducing the Angel Baby Cam, a segment in which fans' reactions were projected onto the giant screens as he serenaded them.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
I make a promise to myself that I will write a song about their journeys and will sing it in Spanish, like Celia, when I grow up.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
“Opera is a work of theater, usually presented onstage. And most of the performers sing. Most of the time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
"You've got to feel the music and almost play it like a singer would sing. Let the music breathe... you have just got to be relaxed, that's the main thing."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2025
“We’d get together and sing. My mother pushed the arts. I watched opera at Hollywood Bowl at age 12. I like music, and I can carry a tune, but I don’t play any instruments.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025
“So handsome. So kind. So talented. So strong. He could draw. He could paint. He could sing. He could write. He was the life of the party.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2024
“Soon it will be time for me to sing. After that, I’ll either be surrounded by worshiping music lovers or be shunned by all.”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim sang Alessandro with a hooded quality and too much vibrato; he sounded messy, especially in the big register jumps of his agitated Act 2 aria.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In 1977 she sang "Nobody Does it Better," the popular James Bond theme song from "The Spy Who Loved Me."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Singer Callum Beattie then appeared - flanked by dancing silver unicorns and stars - and sang Scotland's unofficial football anthem, Yes Sir, I Can Boogie by Baccara.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Thorpe sang lead on several songs in the band’s catalog, including the country-influenced single “Baby I Know.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
They all clapped me on the back & sang a song about me being a jolly good fellow.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
As it happens, she continued to consider singing a secondary pastime even after her performance in Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” under the direction of Peter Sellars made her famous in operatic circles in 1985.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Simon began singing with her sister in the 1960s.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Bring on the crystals and woo-woo singing bowls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
After each name read, Hanger struck a singing bowl, the vibrations sounding out in the corner where they stood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
He thought it was coming from the drain, but then he realized, perhaps Glory was singing.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
A smattering of hardy locals even stayed until the final anthem was sung as the clocked neared 11pm.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I’ve sung with Pavarotti. I know how to sing. I’ve studied the craft for 40 years. I’m not a stylist who just barks and howls. I know how to sing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
I’ve happily sung the praises of jarred garlic and frozen ginger cubes.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
DTMF, as it's also known, made history at the Grammy Awards in February as the first sung entirely in Spanish to win album of the year.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Descants can have text, but are also sung on neutral syllables such as oh, or ah.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
