whinny
Americanverb (used without object)
-
whinnies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whinnied,
past participle, past
-
whinnying
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
whinnies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whinnied,
past participle, past
-
whinnying
present participle
noun
-
whinnies
plural
verb
-
(of a horse) to neigh softly or gently
-
to make a sound resembling a neigh, such as a laugh
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
whinnysimple
-
whinniessimple
-
have whinniedperfect
-
has whinniedperfect
-
am whinnyingprogressive
-
are whinnyingprogressive
-
is whinnyingprogressive
-
have been whinnyingperfect progressive
-
has been whinnyingperfect progressive
Past
-
whinniedsimple
-
had whinniedperfect
-
was whinnyingprogressive
-
were whinnyingprogressive
-
had been whinnyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whinny
1520–30; imitative; compare earlier whrinny, Latin hinnīre
Explanation
A cow moos, a dog barks, a rooster crows, and a horse whinnies. Whinny is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it's the sound a horse makes. As a verb, it's the horse making the sound. A familiar word with the same meaning as whinny is neigh. When you visit your cousins on their farm, the rooster wakes you up every morning with his crowing. The cow moos to let you know she’s ready to be milked. The dog’s barking alerts you that the tractor is coming down the drive. And it’s the horse’s whinny that tells you he’s ready to go for a ride. Every time you hear that whinny, you’ve got to saddle up!
Vocabulary lists containing whinny
Our Town
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Sea of Monsters
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Black Beauty
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The low frequency portion of the whinny comes from vocal fold vibration, much like a person singing or a cat meowing.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
Nuckels also produced a radio ad with narrator with a western drawl saying “Dirty Dan” was riding off into the sunset as horses whinny in the background.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
She’s bonded with the horse she’s ridden for nearly two years, saying he’ll whinny every time she walks into the barn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2021
Horses whinny in horror at the mention of her name.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2021
Maddie could hear the one lad’s distinctive nasal whinny even after his back had become anonymous.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Yes, he neighs and whinnies and you can ride him and, as Woody notes, he gallops like the wind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Horses, however, do not completely follow this pattern, since their whinnies include unexpectedly high frequencies.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
The horses burst into a gallop at the machine's approach, their high-pitched whinnies rising into the dry air.
From Fox News ● Aug. 18, 2021
The horses burst into a gallop at the machine’s approach, their high-pitched whinnies rising into the dry air.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2021
Low moos and whinnies from outside, the buzz of gossip, the clatter of heels on the cobblestones.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
"When I actually came to the field at the start he actually whinnied at me. He was crying out for help."
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
After the Jets’ first three-and-out, I neighed and whinnied like a horse.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
And when his feat was thus complete – he’d won the Triple Crown, He heard the brays and whinnied praise for garnering renown.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 5, 2018
Li’l Sebastian Played by: A beautiful angel who has come to Earth in the body of a miniature horse Money quote: Remember that time he whinnied?
From Time ● Jan. 14, 2015
In the corner cage, the stallion Arion whinnied angrily.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
The overall sound is highly dramatic, with massed voices, quaking beats, horses whinnying in the distance, and percussion that evokes the threat of a rattlesnake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Their baying and whinnying was interrupted every few minutes Saturday night by the piercing roar of engines from a car race on the other side of the fairgrounds.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2022
About one of Winceworth’s colleagues, we read: “Whenever Bielefeld encountered an error or disruption on a page, a kind of whinnying, sniffing gag tore from his throat.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2021
He and I talked for hours, until his horse was whinnying with impatience and kicking the slats of the trailer.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018
With a great whinnying, the herd came to an abrupt stop, rearing and snorting.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
