Verb
We saw people yelling for help.
I heard someone yelling my name.
The crowd was yelling wildly. Noun
the crowd gave a yell of approval
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Verb
The caller said six or seven juveniles ran him off the road and yelled expletives at him and and flipped him off.—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 24 June 2025 After Orange County prosecutors appealed his original five-year sentence, a man who chased, threatened and yelled racial slurs at a pregnant Black woman will be resentenced, facing a maximum sentence between 38 years to life in state prison.—Andrea Klick, Oc Register, 24 June 2025
Noun
Her response set off another round of dissenting yells.—Alana Wise, NPR, 31 May 2025 As traffic piles up behind them, a yell and a bang can be heard as the Chevy driver pulls out, running Cifuni over and dragging her down the street.—John Annese, New York Daily News, 26 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for yell
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English yellen, going back to Old English giellan, gyllan, going back to Germanic *gellan- (whence also Old High German kellen, gellen "to make a shrill sound," Old Norse gjalla "to scream"), perhaps a back-formation from *gullōn-, iterative derivative of *galan- "to sing, cry" — more at nightingale
Noun
Middle English yel, yelle, derivative of yellen "to yell entry 1"
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