1
a
: to produce musical tones by means of the voice
b
: to utter words in musical tones and with musical inflections and modulations
c
: to deliver songs as a trained or professional singer
2
: to make a shrill whining or whistling sound
3
a
: to relate or celebrate something in verse
b
: to compose poetry
c
: to create in or through words a feeling or sense of song
prose that sings
4
: to produce musical or harmonious sounds
birds singing
6
: to make a cry : call
7
: to give information or evidence
1
: to utter with musical inflections
especially
: to interpret in musical tones produced by the voice
2
: to relate or celebrate in verse
4
: to bring or accompany to a place or state by singing
sings the child to sleep
Synonyms
Examples of sing in a Sentence
Verb
She sings in the choir.
The children danced and sang.
He sang softly to the baby.
She's a great actress, and she can dance and sing, too.
We all stood and sang the national anthem.
I can't sing the high notes.
Do you hear the birds singing?
The kettle sang on the stove.
The bullet sang past his helmet.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2023
The youth choir sings in the worship service every other month and for Christmas and Easter family services.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
Taking to his Instagram account with nearly 50 million followers, the Deadpool star sang the praises of British brand Arc, a relatively obscure motorcycle manufacturer from Coventry, England.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov sang the national anthem at his children’s school.
—Natalia Abbakumova, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
Nearly 20,000 young single adults sang, danced, played, prayed, served, ran and worshipped over three weekends for a Utah YSA Conference.
—David Noyce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
Amid careening, dissonant guitar lines and meter-shifting structures, Dupuis sings — obliquely and sometimes bluntly — about vulnerability, power, anger and how to move ahead.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
Though Beyoncé sings in a very high range for most of it, the verses and chorus have a simple, jazz-like melody that’s easy to sing along to.
—Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023
The goal, of course, is to sing second, as the winning team’s song is performed last.
—Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023
Time, 16 Aug. 2023
On a recent weekday, when word broke that Ticketmaster was releasing more tickets for a show in Nashville, Jen Nelson, 35, a single mom from Marstons Mills who wants to see her 9-year-old sing along with Swift, spent 14 hours on the site trying to buy two seats.
—Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
It’s been an exciting year for Jung Kook, particularly in music, with a string of solo sings.
—Billboard Staff, Billboard, 28 Mar. 2023
Leading with vulnerability, the 24-year-old sings with pure emotion over a guitar-laden instrumental laced with fluttering synths.
—Cydney Lee, Billboard, 1 May 2023
Something like: [sings] three, one four, one five.
—Jeffery Delviscio, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023
Lively bars and restaurants are a key part of the brand; there are even fun Karaoke Rooms for a sing-song with friends.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022
Smith can't resist throwing up the peace sing.
—Emily Burack, Town & Country, 28 July 2022
But in the end, Clarkson still convinced Christine to join her team, offering praise for a difficult-to-sing song and some constructive criticism, encouraging her to make her vocals wilder.
—Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2023
See More
Verb
Seated on some island beach before dawn with only his guitar, Chesney sings the first verse and chorus of Buffett’s reflective 1974 ballad about a life well lived.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2023
The youth choir sings in the worship service every other month and for Christmas and Easter family services.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
Taking to his Instagram account with nearly 50 million followers, the Deadpool star sang the praises of British brand Arc, a relatively obscure motorcycle manufacturer from Coventry, England.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov sang the national anthem at his children’s school.
—Natalia Abbakumova, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
Nearly 20,000 young single adults sang, danced, played, prayed, served, ran and worshipped over three weekends for a Utah YSA Conference.
—David Noyce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
Amid careening, dissonant guitar lines and meter-shifting structures, Dupuis sings — obliquely and sometimes bluntly — about vulnerability, power, anger and how to move ahead.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
Though Beyoncé sings in a very high range for most of it, the verses and chorus have a simple, jazz-like melody that’s easy to sing along to.
—Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023
The goal, of course, is to sing second, as the winning team’s song is performed last.
—Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023
Noun
There are the Vines in which a teenage Rapp sings and riffs, now captured for eternity on YouTube, along with videos of her famous-to-theater-lovers 2018 Jimmy Awards performance and TikTok videos she’s shared of her younger self lip-syncing to Camp Rock songs.
—Time, 16 Aug. 2023
On a recent weekday, when word broke that Ticketmaster was releasing more tickets for a show in Nashville, Jen Nelson, 35, a single mom from Marstons Mills who wants to see her 9-year-old sing along with Swift, spent 14 hours on the site trying to buy two seats.
—Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
It’s been an exciting year for Jung Kook, particularly in music, with a string of solo sings.
—Billboard Staff, Billboard, 28 Mar. 2023
Leading with vulnerability, the 24-year-old sings with pure emotion over a guitar-laden instrumental laced with fluttering synths.
—Cydney Lee, Billboard, 1 May 2023
Something like: [sings] three, one four, one five.
—Jeffery Delviscio, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023
Lively bars and restaurants are a key part of the brand; there are even fun Karaoke Rooms for a sing-song with friends.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022
Smith can't resist throwing up the peace sing.
—Emily Burack, Town & Country, 28 July 2022
But in the end, Clarkson still convinced Christine to join her team, offering praise for a difficult-to-sing song and some constructive criticism, encouraging her to make her vocals wilder.
—Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sing.' 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, from Old English singan; akin to Old High German singan to sing, Greek omphē voice
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1850, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of sing was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing sing
Articles Related to sing
Dictionary Entries Near sing
Cite this Entry
“Sing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sing. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
sing
1 of 2 verb1
a
: to produce musical sounds by means of the voice
b
: to utter with musical sounds
sing a song
c
: chant entry 1 sense 2, intone
parts of the mass were sung
2
: to make pleasing musical sounds
birds singing at dawn
3
: to make a slight shrill sound
a kettle singing on the stove
4
: to express enthusiastically
sing the praises of life in the city
5
: buzz entry 1 sense 1, ring
ears singing from the sudden descent
6
: to affect or bring to a place or state by singing
sing a baby to sleep
sing the blues away
7
: to call aloud : cry out
sing out when you find them
sing
2 of 2 noun
: a session of group singing
More from Merriam-Webster on sing
Nglish: Translation of sing for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sing for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share