whinny

American  

[hwin-ee, win-ee] / ˈʰwɪn i, ˈwɪn i /

verb (used without object)

whinnied, whinnying

1. to utter the characteristic cry of a horse; neigh.

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verb (used with object)

whinnied, whinnying

1. to express by whinnying.

noun

plural

whinnies

1. a whinnying sound.

whinny British  

/ ˈwɪnɪ /

verb

1. (of a horse) to neigh softly or gently

2. to make a sound resembling a neigh, such as a laugh

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noun

1. a gentle or low-pitched neigh

Etymology

Origin of whinny

1520–30; imitative; compare earlier whrinny, Latin hinnīre

Example Sentences

The sound of a horse’s shrill whinny on the street below drifted in through an open window, but no breeze.

From Literature

Seeing him paw the ground and whinny only served to emphasize how leggy and coltish he had become.

From Literature

Rainbow could whinny quite prettily on command, and always came trotting up when Edith-Anne whistled “God Save the Queen,” but it was hardly the same thing.

From Literature

Welcoming visitors to the thatched-roof cottage she and her late husband bought soon after the war, she whimsically tweaks the ears of a mechanical horse named Dobin, making him whinny.

From Seattle Times

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