wail

[ weyl ]

/ weɪl /

verb (used without object)

to utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering: to wail with pain.

to make mournful sounds, as music or the wind.

to lament or mourn bitterly.

Jazz. to perform exceptionally well.

Slang. to express emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way.

verb (used with object)

to express deep sorrow for; mourn; lament; bewail: to wail the dead; to wail one's fate.

to express in wailing; cry or say in lamentation: to wail one's grief.

noun

the act of wailing.

a wailing cry, as of grief, pain, or despair.

any similar mournful sound: the wail of an old tune.

Words nearby wail

waichow, waif, waikaremoana, waikato, waikiki, wail, wail like a banshee, wailful, wailsome, wailuku, wain

Origin of wail

1300–50; Middle English weile (v. and noun), perhaps derivative of Old English weilā(wei) well-away; compare Old English wǣlan to torment, Old Norse wǣla to wail

OTHER WORDS FROM wail

wail·er, nounwail·ing·ly, adverbun·wailed, adjectiveun·wail·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wail

wail whale

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for wail

As the women “wail” and the men “dance,” the community takes time to “demonstrate care and respect for the dead.”
Kissing the Corpses in Ebola Country|Abby Haglage|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A helicopter chugged above and there was the wail of a siren.
London's Living Sculptures|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I wail to a familiar tune, of course, in this lament for the evanescence of human grandeur and the perishable renown of kings.
Modern Essays|John Macy
The only answer to his gospel of beef which she could find, when she was home, was a wail of "But just the same——"
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis

The querulous throaty tone was the same, but the words came each time more quickly, and the wail was dying out of them.
The Professor's Mystery|Wells Hastings
Then the people in the village joined in the wail, and it came over and over again from the multitude.
The Border Watch|Joseph A. Altsheler
The wail of the frightened animal within the cabin gave him new energy.
Lords of the Housetops|Various

British Dictionary definitions for wail

wail

/ (weɪl) /

verb

(intr) to utter a prolonged high-pitched cry, as of grief or misery

(intr) to make a sound resembling such a crythe wind wailed in the trees

(tr) to lament, esp with mournful sounds

noun

a prolonged high-pitched mournful cry or sound

Derived forms of wail

wailer, nounwailful, adjectivewailfully, adverb

Word Origin for wail

C14: of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse vǣla to wail, Old English wā woe

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

wail

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Words related to wail

Words nearby wail

Origin of wail

OTHER WORDS FROM wail

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wail

Examples from the Web for wail

British Dictionary definitions for wail

verb

noun

Derived forms of wail

Word Origin for wail