ailed; ailing; ails
: to give physical or emotional pain, discomfort, or trouble to
His back has been ailing him.
It's good for what ails you.
What's ailing you?
: to have something the matter
an ailing economy
especially
: to suffer ill health
She has been ailing for years.
Synonyms
Examples of ail in a Sentence
Noun
half of the staff is out sick with the usual wintertime ails
Recent Examples on the Web
Eden Grinshpan, Bon Appétit, 22 Apr. 2024
Just last year, Brad Herman, a longtime behind-the-scenes aide to celebrities, drew praise from the family of Cindy Birdsong, an ailing former member of the Supremes.
—Lauren Herstik, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, toppers can be a more cost-effective solution for what ails you and your sleep.
—Sharon Brandwein, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2024
Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles), the drama follows a singer mother with an ailing son living in Jackson Heights, New York, who adapts an unflagging optimism to face life's insurmountable odds.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Hosam travels to Benghazi, ostensibly to check up on his ailing father, and also ends up joining the revolution.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Even in middle age, being on good terms with our siblings continues to strongly correlate with our mental and physical well-being, especially during life transitions like a divorce or caring for ailing parents.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The rally did not coincide with a major strategy shift or executive shakeup for the ailing chain of video game stores.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2024
For an upstart like Skydance, buying Paramount Global, ordinarily considered an ailing company, would represent a coup.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
Ben Morse, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024
In the age of generative AI, the theft of huge troves of medical information might be even more dangerous, as our health records wind up in data sets that enable off-the-books innovation in exploiting our ails.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
The Employer has paid the Employee all payments due through September 9, 2022 and ail stancard deductions and regular payroll tax withholdings have been made.
—Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 30 Sep. 2022
Overall, China’s box office continues to ail, with sizable pockets of cinemas across the country still closed as a COVID precaution and consumer activity suppressed by mass testing and a prevailing sense of caution.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2022
Illinois’s fiscal ails have long revolved around its pension system for teachers and state workers.
—Shruti Singh, Bloomberg.com, 18 May 2020
By comparison, the U.S., the coronavirus’s new hotspot, earmarked $2 trillion in March to help businesses, hospitals, and workers counter the economic ails of COVID-19, while the Fed slashed interest rates to nearly zero.
—Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2020
This social pressure only worked, though, to the extent that patients could afford to leave normal life behind, and ail in isolation from their communities.
—Annika Neklason, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2020
El Paso j ail records show a Patrick Wood Crusius was booked Sunday on state charges of capital murder.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2019
Verb
It can be celebratory for the holidays, comforting for a Sunday supper, or healing for whatever ails you.
—Eden Grinshpan, Bon Appétit, 22 Apr. 2024
Just last year, Brad Herman, a longtime behind-the-scenes aide to celebrities, drew praise from the family of Cindy Birdsong, an ailing former member of the Supremes.
—Lauren Herstik, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, toppers can be a more cost-effective solution for what ails you and your sleep.
—Sharon Brandwein, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2024
Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles), the drama follows a singer mother with an ailing son living in Jackson Heights, New York, who adapts an unflagging optimism to face life's insurmountable odds.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Hosam travels to Benghazi, ostensibly to check up on his ailing father, and also ends up joining the revolution.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Even in middle age, being on good terms with our siblings continues to strongly correlate with our mental and physical well-being, especially during life transitions like a divorce or caring for ailing parents.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The rally did not coincide with a major strategy shift or executive shakeup for the ailing chain of video game stores.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2024
For an upstart like Skydance, buying Paramount Global, ordinarily considered an ailing company, would represent a coup.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
What’s more, the age-old phrase the team’s fans have used to describe Detroit’s recent ails – ‘SOL’ or same old Lions – seems to have been banished for now.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024
In the age of generative AI, the theft of huge troves of medical information might be even more dangerous, as our health records wind up in data sets that enable off-the-books innovation in exploiting our ails.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
The Employer has paid the Employee all payments due through September 9, 2022 and ail stancard deductions and regular payroll tax withholdings have been made.
—Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 30 Sep. 2022
Overall, China’s box office continues to ail, with sizable pockets of cinemas across the country still closed as a COVID precaution and consumer activity suppressed by mass testing and a prevailing sense of caution.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2022
Illinois’s fiscal ails have long revolved around its pension system for teachers and state workers.
—Shruti Singh, Bloomberg.com, 18 May 2020
By comparison, the U.S., the coronavirus’s new hotspot, earmarked $2 trillion in March to help businesses, hospitals, and workers counter the economic ails of COVID-19, while the Fed slashed interest rates to nearly zero.
—Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2020
This social pressure only worked, though, to the extent that patients could afford to leave normal life behind, and ail in isolation from their communities.
—Annika Neklason, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2020
El Paso j ail records show a Patrick Wood Crusius was booked Sunday on state charges of capital murder.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ail
Cite this Entry
“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ail. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ail
transitive verb
: to affect with a disease or physical or emotional pain or discomfort
what ails the patient
: to become affected with pain or discomfort : to suffer ill health
was ailing from a cold
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