yawp

American  

[yawp, yahp] / yɔp, yɑp /

Or yaup

verb (used without object)

1. to utter a loud, harsh cry; to yelp, squawk, or bawl.

2. Slang. to talk noisily and foolishly or complainingly.

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noun

1. a harsh cry.

2. Slang.

   1. raucous or querulous speech.

   2. a noisy, foolish utterance.

yawp British  

/ jɔːp /

verb

1. to gape or yawn, esp audibly

2. to shout, cry, or talk noisily; bawl

3. to bark, yelp, or yowl

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noun

1. a shout, bark, yelp, or cry

2. a noisy, foolish, or raucous utterance

Other Word Forms

• yawper noun

Etymology

Origin of yawp

1300–50; Middle English yolpen; akin to yelp

Explanation

To yawp is to cry out or whine loudly. Don't yawp over spilled milk; just clean it up. The harsh sound of a yawp is similar to a yelp — your new puppy might yawp from his crate when you put him to bed at night. People yawp too, calling out in despair or victory or anger. The most famous instance of the word yawp is probably Walt Whitman's, in Leaves of Grass. In the section of his celebrated poem called "Song of Myself," he writes: "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

Example Sentences

Every few minutes, it seemed, they were forming a phalanx across the stage to belt at me, channeling the angst of teenagers everywhere into a wordless yawp.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2022

Here in stone and glass and wood was an eruption of human potential – a victorious yawp in the face of benightedness.

From Fox News • Apr. 16, 2019

As his literary ancestor Walt Whitman would say, it’s a “barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2019

I watched him nimbly pop up onto his surfboard and disappear with a barbaric yawp over the crest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2016

Tiny runs up to us and puts a paw on each of our shoulders and lets forth a yawp of joy.

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan