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
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
At the same time, off-duty nurse Jenna Ricks, who had just been with her 2-week-old baby in the NICU, heard someone yell for a shoelace.—Joanne Fowler, Peoplemag, 14 July 2024 Austin Wells, who replaced Trevino behind the plate, had to intercept the skipper before a fiery scrum led to lots of yelling and shoving.—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 13 July 2024
Noun
There were yells to keep the vote open as members rushed to fill out the green cards to change their vote.—Ben Jacobs, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 June 2024 On Saturday, the Grammy-winner was monologuing between songs at her Las Vegas residency show when a yell from the crowd caught her attention.—Shania Russell, EW.com, 2 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for yell
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yell.' 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 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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