yelp
Americanverb (used without object)
-
yelps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
yelped,
past participle, past
-
yelping
present participle
-
to give a quick, sharp, shrill cry, as a dog or fox.
-
to call or cry out sharply.
The boy yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot.
verb (used with object)
-
yelps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
yelped,
past participle, past
-
yelping
present participle
noun
-
yelps
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
yelpsimple
-
yelpssimple
-
have yelpedperfect
-
has yelpedperfect
-
am yelpingprogressive
-
are yelpingprogressive
-
is yelpingprogressive
-
have been yelpingperfect progressive
-
has been yelpingperfect progressive
Past
-
yelpedsimple
-
had yelpedperfect
-
was yelpingprogressive
-
were yelpingprogressive
-
had been yelpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yelp
before 900; (v.) Middle English yelpen, Old English gielpan to boast; cognate with Low German galpen to croak; (noun) Middle English: boasting, Old English gielp, derivative of the v.
Explanation
A yelp is a loud cry of pain, like what you’d hear after you step on a dog’s tail by accident. It was an accident, right? The root of yelp is the Old English word gielp, which means “boast.” Clearly the meaning has changed over time, since yelping is nothing to boast about, as it usually involves pain of some kind. The word works as a noun and a verb, so you could say “I can hear a dog yelping,” or “The dog’s yelps kept me up all night.” You could also pet your dog a lot, which will help with the yelps.
Vocabulary lists containing yelp
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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:
On 13 April, fans are being encouraged to "dress up, whoop, yelp and clap their way through this block-busting adventure".
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025
But for that moment we sang together, a collective yelp of determination to keep dancing.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2024
His power is in his voice — a twitchy, erratic, untethered yelp — that reveals him not as a victim, but as a vessel of chronic pain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2024
Border Patrol vehicle, botanist Sula Vanderplank heard a quail in the scrub yelp “chi-ca-go,” a sound the birds use to signal they are separated from a mate or group.
From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024
He turned to Annabeth and stifled a yelp.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Tom yelps in a way that halts Max in his tracks.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Nebraska” is a minimalist tableau of sin, a chilling void punctuated with coyote yelps and lonely harmonica solos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
The yelps in songs like “La Loba,” which translates to “she-wolf,” mimic the animal’s song.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
He laughs, jokes and yelps, as he does in performance, but can also be sober and introspective, liable to quote Schopenhauer or Borges in conversation.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
Along with the shouts of men and women, every dog in the city was barking alarm, pigs squealed underfoot, and occasionally a musket would fire, which led to shouted oaths and yelps.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Ow,” Ayden yelped, cartoons playing in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Or, as Doc Brown might have yelped, changes could have disastrous consequences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
He yelped at the microphone as though it was about to attack him, then he lilted, eyes closed, like a crooner.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2023
Rex and the other dogs barked, yelped and whined during the ceremony, more eager to play for each other than get their badges as they tugged at their handlers’ leashes.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
Not far away, some animal grunted, and then yelped out a warning.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
And I like the people yelping “This is golf, not the UFC!” as if a mixed martial arts crowd would somehow be worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
Isabel knew there was a lamppost on her road so she braced herself then "smacked into it and jumped back" yelping in pain.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2023
However, the researchers also noted more signs of stress in the e-collar group, including yawning and, in some dogs, yelping.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2022
She did just in time, yelping and scrambling toward the wall before the ball fell a few feet from where she had been standing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2022
It was answered from behind Dr. Seward’s house by the yelping of dogs, and after about a minute three terriers came dashing round the corner of the house.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
