bawl

1 of 2

verb

bawled; bawling; bawls

intransitive verb

1
: to cry out loudly and unrestrainedly
a sergeant bawling at his troops
2
: to cry loudly : wail
He lay on his bed, bawling uncontrollably.

transitive verb

: to cry out at the top of one's voice
"Get out of the car!" she bawled.
bawler noun

bawl

2 of 2

noun

: a loud prolonged cry : outcry
… political bawls and bellows about cattle prices …Time

Examples of bawl in a Sentence

Verb “Get in the car!” he bawled. he bawled for days after his dog died
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Frieda, now entirely incapable of playing nice, taking big, blatant swipes at her daughters, Shelly grimly staring at the board, and finally, Nancy bawling, and stomping out of the room. Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2024 Yet when the whistle sounded on the U.S. women’s soccer team’s 1-0 win over Brazil in last Saturday’s gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics, Swanson rushed to Naeher, wrapped both arms around her neck and began to bawl. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024
Noun
As the weekend’s big game approached, David Singleton could have staged his own super bawl. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022 That night, Faris saw a woman near her bawl and wide-eyed grown-ups run. Washington Post, 21 July 2021 See all Example Sentences for bawl 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bawl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, to bark, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Icelandic baula to low

Noun

noun derivative of bawl entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1533, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bawl was in 1533

Dictionary Entries Near bawl

Cite this Entry

“Bawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bawl. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

bawl

1 of 2 verb
1
: to shout or cry out loudly : yell
2
: to weep noisily
bawler noun

bawl

2 of 2 noun
: a loud cry

More from Merriam-Webster on bawl

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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