1
: precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps usually consisting of concentric layers of clear ice and compact snow
2
: something that gives the effect of a shower of hail
a hail of rifle fire
hailed; hailing; hails
1
: to precipitate hail (see hail entry 1)
it was hailing hard
2
: to pour down or strike like hail
Bullets were hailing down on them.
hailed; hailing; hails
1
2
: to greet or summon by calling
hail a taxi
: to call out
especially
: to call a greeting to a passing ship
1
—used to express acclamation
hail to the chief—
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott2
archaic
—used as a salutation
1
: an exclamation of greeting or acclamation
greeted the emperor with a hail
2
: a calling to attract attention
3
: hearing distance
stayed within hail
Synonyms
Examples of hail in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a hail of small stones warned them of the oncoming avalanche
even under the hail of angry questions, the press secretary stayed cool
Verb (2)
the museum director hailed the artist's new installation as a groundbreaking work of genius
let's hail a taxi
hailed the waiter for the check
Noun (2)
stay within hail of the restaurant's front desk so you'll know when your table is ready
Recent Examples on the WebPaolo Confino, Fortune, 10 May 2024
Frank Stella, a painter, sculptor and printmaker whose constantly evolving works are hailed as landmarks of the minimalist and post-painterly abstraction art movements, died Saturday at his home in Manhattan.
—CBS News, 4 May 2024
The show was a major success throughout its first two seasons, earning a total of 32 Emmy nominations (and six wins) but many critics have hailed the new season as its best yet.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 2 May 2024
While hailing from different backgrounds, with Ramona born in China and later relocating to New York for studies, and Sophia growing up in the city, they are united by a shared commitment to intimately exploring their roots and capturing delicate portraits of their families and friends.
—Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 2 May 2024
At 28, the poet Tayi Tibble has been hailed as the funny, fresh and immensely skilled voice of a generation in Māori writing.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
One month later, upward of 20,000 protesters, hailing across generations and ethnic lines, marched in solidarity with him.
—Viviane Eng, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Bubble tea, or boba, is the national drink of Taiwan, the country the 27-year-old hails from.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The Four Seasons hails from Universal Television, where Fey’s Little Stranger banner has been based with an overall deal for years.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding will be possible as a line of storms will move east across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cisco, and Gainesville overnight.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2024
Storms could be strong to severe and have a large hail (2 inches in diameter) and damaging winds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The National Weather Service warned of severe weather from Friday through Sunday, with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Colorado home insurance rates climb Climate risks, like wildfires and hail storms, drive Colorado’s surging home insurance premiums.
—Sara B. Hansen, The Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2024
As looming thunderstorm clouds spit out baseball-sized hail and torrential rain, a narrow whirlwind of air stretches its way toward the ground, signaling the arrival of one of nature’s most violent phenomena: a tornado.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Friday’s weather should be isolated mainly to rains, with winds not expected to gust much higher than 25 miles per hour and hail less likely.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Any storm Tuesday could produce damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
Built in 1873, the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel was hailed at the time as an engineering marvel.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 10 May 2024
Frank Stella, a painter, sculptor and printmaker whose constantly evolving works are hailed as landmarks of the minimalist and post-painterly abstraction art movements, died Saturday at his home in Manhattan.
—CBS News, 4 May 2024
The show was a major success throughout its first two seasons, earning a total of 32 Emmy nominations (and six wins) but many critics have hailed the new season as its best yet.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 2 May 2024
While hailing from different backgrounds, with Ramona born in China and later relocating to New York for studies, and Sophia growing up in the city, they are united by a shared commitment to intimately exploring their roots and capturing delicate portraits of their families and friends.
—Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 2 May 2024
At 28, the poet Tayi Tibble has been hailed as the funny, fresh and immensely skilled voice of a generation in Māori writing.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
One month later, upward of 20,000 protesters, hailing across generations and ethnic lines, marched in solidarity with him.
—Viviane Eng, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Bubble tea, or boba, is the national drink of Taiwan, the country the 27-year-old hails from.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The Four Seasons hails from Universal Television, where Fey’s Little Stranger banner has been based with an overall deal for years.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Noun
In addition to dozens of tornado reports, Friday saw 33 damaging wind reports and 60 large hail reports.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding will be possible as a line of storms will move east across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cisco, and Gainesville overnight.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2024
Storms could be strong to severe and have a large hail (2 inches in diameter) and damaging winds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The National Weather Service warned of severe weather from Friday through Sunday, with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Colorado home insurance rates climb Climate risks, like wildfires and hail storms, drive Colorado’s surging home insurance premiums.
—Sara B. Hansen, The Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2024
As looming thunderstorm clouds spit out baseball-sized hail and torrential rain, a narrow whirlwind of air stretches its way toward the ground, signaling the arrival of one of nature’s most violent phenomena: a tornado.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Friday’s weather should be isolated mainly to rains, with winds not expected to gust much higher than 25 miles per hour and hail less likely.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Any storm Tuesday could produce damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to hail
Dictionary Entries Near hail
Cite this Entry
“Hail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hail. Accessed 13 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hail
1 of 5 noun1
: small lumps of ice that fall from clouds sometimes during thunderstorms
2
: something that gives the effect of falling hail
a hail of bullets
hail
2 of 5 verb1
: to fall as hail
2
: to pour down like hail
hail
3 of 5 interjection1
—used to express enthusiastic approval
2
archaic
—used as a greeting
hail
4 of 5 verb1
a
b
: to greet with enthusiastic approval : acclaim
hailed them as heroes
2
: to summon by calling
hail a taxi
3
: to call out to
hail a passing ship
hail
5 of 5 noun1
: an act or instance of hailing
2
: hearing distance
stayed within hail
Etymology
Noun
Old English hægl "lumps of ice, hail"
Interjection
Middle English hail (an interjection of approval or greeting), derived from early Norse heill "healthy" — related to hale entry 1, wassail
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