wail

verb

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\ ˈwāl

wailed; wailing; wails

Definition of wail

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to express sorrow audibly : lament

2 : to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry

3 : to express dissatisfaction plaintively : complain

transitive verb

1 : to say or express plaintively wailed that her cake was ruined

2 archaic : bewail

wail

noun

Definition of wail (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : a usually prolonged cry or sound expressing grief or pain

b : a sound suggestive of wailing the wail of an air-raid siren

c : a querulous expression of grievance : complaint

2 : the act or practice of wailing : loud lamentation

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Examples of wail in a Sentence

Verb The child started wailing after she stumbled and fell. A saxophone wailed in the background. “No! I don't want to go!” he wailed. She wailed that the vacation was ruined. Noun the wail of a siren a prolonged wail arose from every corner of the city as the victims of the earthquake were unearthed from the rubble

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb One of the members even puts down his sax to wail a few songs with bell-like clarity. — Morena Duwe, Billboard, "Meet Meute, the German Marching Band That Plays Only Electronic Music Covers," 11 Dec. 2019 On most mornings, Ye would wake up at 8:00 a.m. when his alarm clock began to wail. — NBC News, "The simple technique that helped this writer become a morning person," 4 Nov. 2019 Online videos circulating on Iranian social media seemed to show a fire at the depot as sirens wailed in the background. — Fox News, "At least 1 dead in Iran protests over gas prices," 17 Nov. 2019 And have plenty of good callers wailing away at sky-high migrators. — Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, "5 Keys to Killing Reverse Migration Mallards and Geese," 16 Dec. 2019 As one of his children, unfed, wailed the family waited for more than 10 hours before a passing rescue boat spotted them. — Abdi Guled, Twin Cities, "Somalia struggles after worst flooding in recent history," 14 Nov. 2019 As the music wailed on into the early morning hours, more than 100 campfires — fed by fence-posts and any other wood the young people could lay their hands on — flickered around the hillside that formed a natural amphitheater for the festival. — New York Times, "Woodstock 1969: A Story Vastly Bigger Than Editors Realized," 9 Aug. 2019 But Iraqi pilgrims will also wail for the 110 people, all Shia, whom their government has killed during recent protests. — The Economist, "Streets of fury Iraq’s government seems powerless to halt protests in the Shia heartland," 10 Oct. 2019 Here, Miss Wiggles is still swiveling, Mays’ guitar is still wailing and the applause never stops. — Vincent T. Davis, ExpressNews.com, "Legendary blues guitarist Curley Mays thrilled crowds in San Antonio and hot spots across the country," 16 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The woman’s wails pierced the night sky as a light mist started coming down. — Mariam Khan, ABC News, "Overcome with grief at 'dignified transfer,' woman runs to plane crying out loved one's name," 11 Feb. 2020 The main noises were the crackling of the blankets and the occasional laugh or wail of a small child. — John C. Moritz/usa Today Network Austin Bureau, USA TODAY, "Mike Pence got a first-hand look at border detention facilities in McAllen and Donna, Texas. What he saw," 13 July 2019 In that second episode, show creator and director Ava DuVernay shows the court verdicts read aloud as the five young actors sob and a trumpet wails. — Mark Kennedy, Twin Cities, "Top 12 TV moments from 2019," 13 Dec. 2019 Morris is a rising superstar of rare nuance; Carlile is a literary-spirited outsider with a fierce wail; Shires uses Dolly Parton inflections for sneakily devastating narratives; Hemby, the least known of the members, has written five No. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "The Highwomen’s Joyful Country-Music Rewrites," 6 Sep. 2019 My 14-month-old couldn’t pull himself out of a tearful spell, and after about an hour of trying to calm him, the sound of his wails through everyone’s special occasion had taken its toll on both of us. — Beth Spotswood, SFChronicle.com, "Perceptive parents give peace a chance," 6 Jan. 2020 The four-banger let out a full-throated wail over 5,600 rpms that would wake the dead. — Tribune News Service, cleveland, "The racy Honda Civic Si just wants to have fun (auto review)," 7 Dec. 2019 In one photo, all three of the Christina on the Coast and Flip or Flop star’s children pose underneath the Christmas tree as Taylor snuggles up to her baby brother, who was busy letting out a wail. — Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, "Christina Anstead’s 12-Week-Old Son Can't Keep His Eyes Open in Family Thanksgiving Snaps," 29 Nov. 2019 Shahid remembers visiting her there, among the wails and curses of the patients. — Ellen Barry, New York Times, "The Jungle Prince of Delhi," 22 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.