whine

CEFRB2

/ˈwaɪ̯n/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To complain in a high, weak, or unpleasant voice.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A peevish or self-pitying complaint or criticism.

Examples

  • Coil whine may sometimes be annoying, but it's usually harmless.

  • Don't just whine, do something!

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˈw̥aɪ̯n/
  • /ˈʍaɪ̯n/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To utter a high-pitched cry.

  2. To make a sound resembling such a cry.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A long-drawn, high-pitched complaining cry or sound.

More examples

In context

  • You sure do whine a lot.

  • I need to have a quick whine about my boss before we start talking about the holiday.

  • The jet engines whined at take off.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The child started to blank because his ice cream fell on the ground.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English whynen, hwinen, whinen, from Old English hwīnan (“to rush, to whizz, to squeal, to whine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hwīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Old Norse hvína, whence Icelandic hvína, Norwegian Nynorsk kvina, Swedish vina, and Danish hvine. Despite the strong similarity in sound and meaning, not related with German weinen, Dutch wenen, from Proto-Germanic *wainōną (for which see dialectal English ween (“to weep, lament”)).