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

Relevance

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
  • The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season.
    Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
  • That doesn’t include food for the horses, who start whinnying.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Verb
  • The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The rush of wind and thrum of tire roar was punctuated, not by engine revs and tailpipe cackles, but by birdsong.
    Alistair Charlton, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
  • But the loudest roar — aside the one for the record strikeout — came when Kershaw bounded out of the dugout to start the sixth.
    Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025
Noun
  • Compounds in the plant’s twigs, leaves, and bark have also been recognized for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 27 June 2025
  • Even North Korea made 50 bombs while famines forced its people to eat tree bark.
    John Seiler, Oc Register, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • The screech of an infected is the first sign of trouble.
    EW.com, EW.com, 19 May 2025
  • The constant clang of metal and the screech of drills suggest the sort of work underway at a warehouse-turned-workshop in this Ukrainian city about 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Kyiv.
    Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • The gym was quiet, echoing only the squeal of sneakers and pounding of the basketball instead of the music and laughter that typically accompany a pregame training session.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 5 June 2025
  • Their squeals and laughter echoed against the mountains.
    Nathan Rousseau Smith, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The footage shows the beautiful black cat not with a typical meow, but with a series of gentle squeaks.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025
  • George's solo culminated in a symphony of squeaks before MJ Lenderman returned to the stage for a two-song encore.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 17 May 2025
Noun
  • Here’s something for Hallmark fans to cluck about: the channel has set the return date for The Chicken Sisters.
    Lynette Rice, Deadline, 26 June 2025
  • Geese on the ground cluck excitedly when other birds are circling above.
    Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Sep. 2023

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Neigh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/neigh. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on neigh

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!