to utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering:
to wail with pain.
2.
to make mournful sounds, as music or the wind.
3.
to lament or mourn bitterly.
4.
Jazz. to perform exceptionally well.
5.
Slang. to express emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way.
verb (used with object)
6.
to express deep sorrow for; mourn; lament; bewail:
to wail the dead; to wail one's fate.
7.
to express in wailing; cry or say in lamentation:
to wail one's grief.
noun
8.
the act of wailing.
9.
a wailing cry, as of grief, pain, or despair.
10.
any similar mournful sound:
the wail of an old tune.
Origin
1300-50;Middle Englishweile (v. and noun), perhaps derivative of Old Englishweilā(wei) well-away; compare Old Englishwǣlan to torment, Old Norsewǣla to wail
She sounds an urgent wail that echoes loudly off the empty stoops.
Other animals may whimper, moan and wail, but none sheds tears of emotion--not even our closest primate cousins.
The banshee wail of an ambulance, the song of its siren, is the stuff of awful visions.
Otherwise the wail of the loons is at risk in the northern wilderness.
Go on, lift up the neck of the guitar and press on the whammy bar to really wail on an extended note.
Wall space is ample for this number of frames, so that the wail of the skied is not heard in the land.
Not far away other earthquake survivors wail in agony in a makeshift hospital.
Then came the sickening sound of a wild tumble, the clatter of hooves, a terrified wail.
And there is the startled jolt of adrenaline in response to the roar of a leopard--or the wail of an alarm.
But you can always remember the good old days and wail.
British Dictionary definitions for wail
wail
/weɪl/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to utter a prolonged high-pitched cry, as of grief or misery
2.
(intransitive) to make a sound resembling such a cry: the wind wailed in the trees
3.
(transitive) to lament, esp with mournful sounds
noun
4.
a prolonged high-pitched mournful cry or sound
Derived Forms
wailer, noun wailful, adjective wailfully, adverb
Word Origin
C14: of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse vǣla to wail, Old English wāwoe
Word Origin and History for wail
v.
early 14c., from Old Norse væla "to lament," from væ "woe" (see woe). Of jazz musicians, "to play very well," attested from 1955, American English slang (wailing "excellent" is attested from 1954). Related: Wailed.