Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To cry or screech like a cat in heat.
- intransitive verb To make a shrill, discordant sound.
- intransitive verb To have a noisy argument.
- noun A shrill, discordant sound.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To cry as cats under the influence of the sexual instinct; make a disagreeable howling or screeching.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A caterwauling.
- intransitive verb To cry as cats in rutting time; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive To
cry as catsin heat ; to make aharsh ,offensive noise . - verb intransitive To have a
noisy argument , like cats. - noun A
yowling . - noun A noisy quarrel.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb utter shrieks, as of cats
- noun the yowling sound made by a cat in heat
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I was not going to indict, complain or caterwaul, which is why I didn't even consider writing a year-in-review piece before very early this morning.
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Unfortunately, most of the people who caterwaul about being offended are being serious.
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Most of the people who caterwaul about being offended are being serious.
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Although other kids were quicker with the software, Simon enjoyed these studies because he loved learning new words, like caterwaul, which meant “to shriek or yowl,” and taciturn, which described someone who was quiet… like him.
Watercolored Different Jessie Peacock 2011
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You walk in to the deafening metronome uncha-uncha-uncha robotic caterwaul, the music almost binary in nature 101101-ing to a crowd of Latino gangbangers, septuagenarians, slumming rich kids and washed-up high school jocks with backwards hats who were just looking for something to date rape.
Someplace Else Joe Deir 2011
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It's a comedy rule, it seems, that the louder you can say a line or caterwaul in reaction to some hoary bit of high jinks, the more uproarious the moment becomes.
Theater review: 'Fox on the Fairway' at Signature Theatre Peter Marks 2010
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Most of the people who caterwaul about being offended are being serious.
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Jump the chair light the stove heat the pan stop the floor caterwaul beneath the faucet
Butter Beans Michael Dickes 2011
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The Australian government is having a harder time endorsing the verdict, prompting the predictable caterwaul from China.
China Convicts Itself Jr. Holman W. Jenkins 2010
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The Australian government is having a harder time endorsing the verdict, prompting the predictable caterwaul from China.
China Convicts Itself Jr. Holman W. Jenkins 2010
sonofgroucho commented on the word caterwaul
This activity is sometimes frowned upon.
May 4, 2007
ofravens commented on the word caterwaul
On storm-struck deck, wind sirens caterwaul
from "Channel Crossing," Sylvia Plath
April 14, 2008