sing

1 of 2

verb

sang ˈsaŋ How to pronounce sing (audio) or sung ˈsəŋ How to pronounce sing (audio) ; sung; singing ˈsiŋ-iŋ How to pronounce sing (audio)

intransitive verb

1
a
: to produce musical tones by means of the voice
b
: to utter words in musical tones and with musical inflections and modulations
c
: to deliver songs as a trained or professional singer
2
: to make a shrill whining or whistling sound
3
a
: to relate or celebrate something in verse
b
: to compose poetry
c
: to create in or through words a feeling or sense of song
prose that sings
4
: to produce musical or harmonious sounds
birds singing
5
: buzz, ring
6
: to make a cry : call
7
: to give information or evidence

transitive verb

1
: to utter with musical inflections
especially : to interpret in musical tones produced by the voice
2
: to relate or celebrate in verse
3
4
: to bring or accompany to a place or state by singing
sings the child to sleep
singable adjective

sing

2 of 2

noun

: a session of group singing

Examples of sing in a Sentence

Verb She sings in the choir. The children danced and sang. He sang softly to the baby. She's a great actress, and she can dance and sing, too. We all stood and sang the national anthem. I can't sing the high notes. Do you hear the birds singing? The kettle sang on the stove. The bullet sang past his helmet.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Coming up: Los Angeles Chargers kicker and Texas alum Cameron Dicker will give invocation at 3:30, and San Antonio police officer Rebecca Vermeulen will sing the national anthem at 3:31. Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 24 Mar. 2024 One of South Korea’s most popular rappers — Yoon Mi-rae, or Natasha Shanta Reid — sings about her biracial identity. Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 As his owner, Marlena (Isabelle McCalla) caresses and sings to him, a striking performer (Antoine Boissereau) slowly removes his equine headpiece and soars above the stage: lithely conveying the animal’s majestic, restless spirit through an aerial silk ballet. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Funk brings Staley and Cantrell together Staley first sang in a glam metal band known as Alice in Chains, or sometimes Alice N’ Chains, in the mid-‘80s. Spin Contributor, SPIN, 22 Mar. 2024 In the video, Rodrigo sings about being jealous of and obsessed with her partner's ex-girlfriend, dressed in her usual punky all-black against the debutantes and pageant queens. Kara Nesvig, Allure, 22 Mar. 2024 Tammy Faye Messner will sing again, this time in a new Broadway musical set to open this fall. Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024 The series truly comes alive in the moments when Wolff sings, as Cohen, on camera. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Mar. 2024 Seeing Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie sing along was one of the night’s emotional peaks. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2024
Noun
In this iconic scene, the two sing and dance in matching shoes to the backdrop of a beautiful Los Angeles sky. Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 The Oscar-winner sings, fights zombies, and almost punches a baby in EW's roundup of her best roles. Shania Russell, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2024 That catchiness is sure to inspire signature dance moves and more than a little sing along. Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 2 Feb. 2024 Yet the legendary musical's score swings and sings. Scott Hocker, theweek, 5 Jan. 2024 So: Is any of this so very different from the absurd, grab-bag felicity of director King's Paddington 2, where we were enchanted watching a teddy bear sing and dance in prison? Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 15 Dec. 2023 For him and others, singing those sings in Spanish proved demanding. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2023 There are the Vines in which a teenage Rapp sings and riffs, now captured for eternity on YouTube, along with videos of her famous-to-theater-lovers 2018 Jimmy Awards performance and TikTok videos she’s shared of her younger self lip-syncing to Camp Rock songs. Time, 16 Aug. 2023 On a recent weekday, when word broke that Ticketmaster was releasing more tickets for a show in Nashville, Jen Nelson, 35, a single mom from Marstons Mills who wants to see her 9-year-old sing along with Swift, spent 14 hours on the site trying to buy two seats. Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English singan; akin to Old High German singan to sing, Greek omphē voice

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sing was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sing

Cite this Entry

“Sing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sing. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sing

1 of 2 verb
sang ˈsaŋ How to pronounce sing (audio) or sung ˈsəŋ How to pronounce sing (audio) ; sung; singing ˈsiŋ-iŋ How to pronounce sing (audio)
1
a
: to produce musical sounds by means of the voice
b
: to utter with musical sounds
sing a song
c
: chant entry 1 sense 2, intone
parts of the mass were sung
2
: to make pleasing musical sounds
birds singing at dawn
3
: to make a slight shrill sound
a kettle singing on the stove
4
: to express enthusiastically
sing the praises of life in the city
5
: buzz entry 1 sense 1, ring
ears singing from the sudden descent
6
: to affect or bring to a place or state by singing
sing a baby to sleep
sing the blues away
7
: to call aloud : cry out
sing out when you find them
singable adjective

sing

2 of 2 noun
: a session of group singing

More from Merriam-Webster on sing

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