wailed; wailing; wails
1
: to express sorrow audibly : lament
2
: to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry
3
: to express dissatisfaction plaintively : complain
1
: to say or express plaintively
wailed that her cake was ruined
2
archaic
: bewail
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
Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 June 2025
Tammy is having an obvious emotional affair; Craig is A Lot, wailing and fixating the way Robinson does.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 May 2025
Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
The driving force at the center of almost all the show’s best numbers is Webb’s voice, which is a marvelous instrument for this music, equally capable of delivering touching tenderness or a velvety wail of triumphant transcendence.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wail
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Verb
Hailing from Gangtok, Sikkim, and now based in Bengaluru, India, the band gave the pop ballad a dramatic makeover, transforming Adele’s chart-topping hit into a full-fledged rock spectacle complete with wailing guitar solos, gritty vocals, and thunderous drums.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 June 2025
Tammy is having an obvious emotional affair; Craig is A Lot, wailing and fixating the way Robinson does.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 May 2025
Noun
After about seven minutes — and two more rounds of Narcan — the wail of sirens are finally heard.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
The driving force at the center of almost all the show’s best numbers is Webb’s voice, which is a marvelous instrument for this music, equally capable of delivering touching tenderness or a velvety wail of triumphant transcendence.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wail
Cite this Entry
“Wail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wail. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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