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yammer

[yam-er]Informal.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to whine or complain.
  2. to make an outcry or clamor.
  3. to talk loudly and persistently.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to utter clamorously, persistently, or in complaint: They yammered their complaints until she let them see the movie.
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noun
  1. the act or noise of yammering.
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Origin of yammer

1275–1325; Middle English yameren (v.) < Middle Dutch jam(m)eren, replacing Middle English yomeren, Old English gēomrian to complain, derivative of gēomor sad; akin to German Jammer lamentation
Related formsyam·mer·er, nounyam·mer·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

moanwhimperbellyachefusswailcarpgrumblegriperepineyowlcomplainhowl

Examples from the Web for yammered

Historical Examples

  • "I wouldn't want any of that stuff inside of me," he yammered.

    The 4-D Doodler

    Graph Waldeyer

  • The girn, my informant said, was never out its face, and it yammered on night and day.

    Folk Lore

    James Napier

  • He ripped past their strengthless clutching fingers and yammered on the trail of the Martian.

    Duel on Syrtis

    Poul William Anderson

  • The dreary weather held, there was rain and snow, gales like famished banshees pounded and yammered at the hotel windows.

    Linda Lee, Incorporated

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • Their guns hammered and yammered out their song, and Dave could clearly see their tracers zinging down into the German plane.

British Dictionary definitions for yammered

yammer

verb
  1. to utter or whine in a complaining or peevish manner
  2. to make (a complaint) loudly or persistently
  3. (intr) (esp of an animal) to howl or wail plaintively or distressingly; yelp or yowl
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noun
  1. a yammering sound, wail, or utterance
  2. nonsense; jabber
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Derived Formsyammerer, noun

Word Origin

Old English geōmrian to grumble, complain; related to Old High German iāmar misery, lamentation, Old Norse amra to howl
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

Word Origin and History for yammered

yammer

v.

late 15c., "to lament," probably from Middle Dutch jammeren and cognate Middle English yeoumeren, "to mourn, complain," from Old English geomrian "to lament," from geomor "sorrowful," probably of imitative origin. Meaning "to make loud, annoying noise" is attested from 1510s. Related: Yammered; yammering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper