Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - wail

(wails, wailing, wailed) 1. If someone wails, they make long, loud, high-pitched cries which express sorrow or pain. The women began to wail in mourning. ...a mother wailing for her lost child. VERB: V, V for n • Wail is also a noun. Wails of grief were heard as visitors filed past the site of the disaster. N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. If you wail something, you say it in a loud, high-pitched voice that shows that you are unhappy or in pain. ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ Shirley wailed... Primrose, stupefied by tiredness, began to wail that she was hungry. VERB: V with quote, V that, also V about n 3. If something such as a siren or an alarm wails, it makes a long, loud, high-pitched sound. Police cars, their sirens wailing, accompanied the lorries... VERB: V • Wail is also a noun. The wail of the bagpipe could be heard in the distance. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n • wailing Our artillery opened up and we heard a fearful wailing and screeching. N-UNCOUNT