yodel

1 of 2

verb

yo·​del ˈyō-dᵊl 

yodeled or yodelled; yodeling or yodelling ˈyōd-liŋ 

ˈyō-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

: to sing by suddenly changing from a natural voice to a falsetto and back

also : to shout or call in a similar manner

transitive verb

: to sing (a tune) by yodeling

yodeler

ˈyōd-lər 

ˈyō-dᵊl-ər

noun

yodel

2 of 2

noun

: a song or refrain sung by yodeling

also : a yodeled shout or cry

Examples of yodel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Unexpectedly, though quite fitting for the locale, the score includes quite a bit of yodelling, mostly for Jordan. —Christian Lewis, Variety, 22 Apr. 2025

Mason Ramsey Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven The still-young country vocalist, whose career began seven years ago with a viral video of him yodeling in a Walmart, is at Toad’s Place on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. $28.51-$53.50, $22.59 students; meet and greet package available. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2025

Noun

In the ’37 Snow White, there’s a set piece where the dwarfs yodel. —Darren Franich, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025

These songs hide surprises everywhere: interludes of mechanical scraping; yodels and chants; North West (daughter of Kanye) rapping in Japanese for some reason. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

German jodeln

First Known Use

Verb

1827, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1844, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for yodel

• modal
• nodal
• asphodel
• bimodal
• intermodal
• multimodal
• unimodal

Kids Definition

yodel

verb

yo·​del

ˈyōd-ᵊl

yodeled or yodelled; yodeling or yodelling

ˈyōd-liŋ,

-ᵊl-iŋ

: to sing while frequently going back and forth between the range of one's natural voice and a higher range

also : to shout or call in this manner

yodel noun

yodeler

ˈyōd-lər

-ᵊl-ər

noun