wail

Use wail in a sentence

An upset baby wails.

noun

The definition of a wail is a long cry.
An example of a wail is a cry by a very upset baby.

verb

To wail is defined as to cry to express intense sadness.
An example of to wail is to sob loudly at a funeral.
Wail is slang for to play very well on an instrument.
An example of to wail is to play an amazing piano solo in a jazz performance.

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"wail." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL>.

APA Style

wail. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL

wail

to express grief or pain by long, loud cries
to make a plaintive, sad, crying sound: the wind wailing in the trees
Slang, Jazz to play in an intense or inspired manner

Origin of wail

Middle English wailen from Old Norse væla, to lament from væ, woe

to lament; mourn: to wail someone's death
to cry out in mourning or lamentation

a long, pitiful cry of grief and pain
a sound like this
the act of wailing

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MLA Style

"wail." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL>.

APA Style

wail. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL

wail

verb

wailed, wail·ing, wails

verb

intransitive

To make a long, loud, high-pitched cry, as in grief, sorrow, or fear. See Synonyms at cry.
To make a prolonged, high-pitched sound suggestive of a cry: The wind wailed through the trees.

verb

transitive Archaic

To lament over; bewail.

noun

A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain.
A long, loud, high-pitched sound: the wail of a siren.
A loud, bitter protest: A wail of misery went up when new parking restrictions were announced.

Origin of wail

Middle English wailen probably of Scandinavian origin Old Norse vāla, vǣla

Related Forms:

wail′er
noun

wail′ing·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"wail." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL>.

APA Style

wail. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/WAIL

Noun

(plural wails)

A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
She let out a loud, doleful wail.
Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
The wail of snow-dark winter winds.
A bird's wail in the night.
A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)

(intransitive) To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
(intransitive) To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
(intransitive) To make a noise like mourning or crying.
The wind wailed and the rain streamed down.
To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
to wail one's death
(slang, music) To perform with great liveliness and force.

Origin

Probably from Old Norse vÃ¦la

Verb

(third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)

(obsolete) To choose; to select.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Origin

Compare Icelandic word for "choice".

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.