Definitions for wail

• Definition
• Anagrams (26)

wail wail

Spelling: [weyl]

IPA: /weɪl/

Wail is a 4 letter English word. It's valid Scrabble word worth 7 points. It's valid Words with friends word worth 8 points.

You can make 26 anagrams from letters in wail (ailw).

Definitions for wail

noun

1. the act of wailing.
2. a wailing cry, as of grief, pain, or despair.
3. any similar mournful sound:

verb (used with object)

1. to express deep sorrow for; mourn; lament; bewail:
2. to express in wailing; cry or say in lamentation:

verb (used without object)

1. to utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering:
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.

Origin of wail

1300-50; Middle English weile (v. and noun), perhaps derivative of Old English weilā(wei) well-away; compare Old English wǣlan to torment, Old Norse wǣla to wail

Examples for wail

And sobbing sweethearts, in a row, wail o'er the ocean foam.

Linda looked at her as she buried her face and began to wail.

The voice changed into what was almost a wail of indignation.

A helicopter chugged above and there was the wail of a siren.

As the women “wail” and the men “dance,” the community takes time to “demonstrate care and respect for the dead.”

She was too terrified to add her weeping to the wail of the wind—it would have been too ghastly.

It's the wail of a lost spirit, loosed temporarily from the horrors of purgatory.

He gurgled, stammered, and then broke into a wail of distress.

But little Marian, taken with the new acquaintance, broke into a wail.

No shriek, no wail, no word succeeded—all was as silent as the grave.