wail in English: To cry loudly and for a long time because you are sad or hurt. (verb)

Translation

To cry loudly and for a long time because you are sad or hurt.

Word origin

From Old Norse vaela, meaning to lament, from vei, a cry of woe.

Verb typeregular (wail, wails, wailed)

.

Wailing is loud, long crying; it is much louder than sobbing.

.

People wail when grief is too big to keep quiet.

.

As a noun, a wail is a long, high, sad sound; sirens wail too.

cry

To let water fall from your eyes when you are sad or hurt.

scream

To make a loud, high cry because you are afraid, hurt, or excited.

sob

To cry loudly, breathing in short sharp breaths.

moan

To make a long low sound because you are in pain or unhappy; also to keep complaining.

loud

Making a lot of noise; easy to hear.

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.