Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [kat-er-wawl]
- /ˈkæt ərˌwɔl/
- /ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [kat-er-wawl]
- /ˈkæt ərˌwɔl/
Definitions of caterwaul word
- verb caterwaul If a person or animal caterwauls, they make a loud, high, unpleasant noise like the noise that cats make when they fight. 3
- verb caterwaul Caterwaul is also a noun. 3
- verb caterwaul to make a yowling noise, as a cat on heat 3
- noun caterwaul a shriek or yell made by or sounding like a cat on heat 3
- intransitive verb caterwaul to make a shrill, howling sound like that of a cat at rutting time; screech; wail 3
- noun caterwaul such a sound 3
Information block about the term
Origin of caterwaul
First appearance:
before 1350 One of the 20% oldest English words
1350-1400; Middle English cater(wawen) (equivalent to cater tomcat (< Middle Dutch) + wawen to howl, Old English wāwan to blow, said of the wind) + waul, variant of wail
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Caterwaul
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
caterwaul popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 51% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
caterwaul usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for caterwaul
verb caterwaul
- bicker — When people bicker, they argue or quarrel about unimportant things.
- wail — to utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering: to wail with pain.
- screech — to utter or make a harsh, shrill cry or sound: The child screeched hysterically. The brakes screeched.
- bawl — If you bawl, you shout in a very loud voice, for example because you are angry or you want people to hear you.
- squall — the act or sound of squalling: The baby's squall was heard next door.
Antonyms for caterwaul
verb caterwaul
- agree — If people agree with each other about something, they have the same opinion about it or say that they have the same opinion.
Top questions with caterwaul
- why do cats caterwaul?
- what does caterwaul mean?
- why do cats caterwaul at night?
- why does my cat caterwaul?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with c
- Words starting with ca
- Words starting with cat
- Words starting with cate
- Words starting with cater
- Words starting with caterw
- Words starting with caterwa
- Words starting with caterwau
- Words starting with caterwaul