neigh 1 of 2

as in to whinny
to make the cry typical of a horse the horses neighed when the rider came into the barn

Synonyms & Similar Words

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neigh

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of neigh
Noun
Across from them in their usual stalls stood the eight neighing horses. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025 The band joked about adding a neighing horse to the intro, and Rimes quickly inserted that sound from his plug-in collection. Tom Roland, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2024 Laughing, always laughing—at the dickey birds hopping in the tree branches, at the urchin who was burned to a crisp by an angry mob, at the slandering neighbor woman who got turned into a neighing donkey. Okwiri Oduor, Harper's Magazine, 15 June 2022 No such juvenilia intrudes upon the rather more adult-ish proceedings of the new film The Wanting Mare, in which horses neigh and stamp at the margins of a bleak, majestic world. Jason Kehe, Wired, 12 Feb. 2021 Horse trailers lined up in rows in Island Grove Regional Park, their passengers neighing indiscriminately. John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 28 July 2019 Goats and sheep staying in the barn bleated, and horses neighed as the crowd of people grew. David Anderson, baltimoresun.com, 23 July 2019 There in the the headquarters of Togo’s secret police — the notorious Research and Intelligence Service — the captives were beaten, waterboarded and forced to kneel and neigh like horses. Siobhan O'Grady, latimes.com, 4 June 2018 Across the barn, another horse was getting new shoes and neighed. Jason Nark, Philly.com, 23 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for neigh
Verb
  • McCaffrey is whinnying as the workhorse.
    Brad Evans, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season.
    Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • How moo moo came to be be The Facebook group and the resulting moo moo movement began with a conversation between Huckins and a friend, according to both women.
    Eric D. Lawrence, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.
    James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2024
Noun
  • Anchored by Syracuse University, the city hums with youthful spirit, from buzzy Marshall Street to the roar of the JMA Wireless Dome, where Orange basketball games regularly draw some of the largest crowds in college hoops.
    Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The only noise was the roar of the crowd when Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder intercepted passes on back-to-back drives, or when Bryce Underwood rolled out and found a wide-open Zack Marshall in the end zone.
    Austin Meek, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Certain bark layers, saps, and other plant matter can actually photoluminesce.
    Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 16 Oct. 2025
  • There is a large amount of insect activity or excessive holes in the bark leaking sap.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • So rang the delighted screech of a young Manchester United fan outside the Progress with Unity Stadium, an hour before United’s Women’s Champions League debut against Valarenga on Wednesday night.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Things flash and roar and screech and skitter through the dark.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Sophi of course squeals, which puts the pink-haired frontwoman on the outs with mostly everyone.
    Nick Caruso, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Instead of chocolate or a throwaway trinket, this calendar delivers 25 days of genuine squeal-worthy surprises.
    Katie Ann Lehman, StyleCaster, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Her bottom lip dropped and a tiny squeak emerged.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
  • This isn’t like missing a 2-foot putt, or getting posterized, or letting a groundball squeak through your legs or blowing a tire on the ice.
    Zak Keefer, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Neigh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/neigh. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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