at the top of one's lungs
17
4.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
a todo pulmón
- She shouted at the top of her lungs to get my attention over the noise of the crowd.
- screaming at the top of her lungs
- yelling at the top of her lungs
- shouting at the top of her lungs
Examples
-
Singing at the top of your lungs.
-
You keep shouting at the top of your lungs as though that were some sort of solution.
-
Screaming at the top of his lungs, "Hello!"
-
All of a sudden, she starts screaming at the top of her lungs...
-
The kid yelled it at the top of his lungs.
-
"Go away, you nasty old frog!" She ran down the road, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Fiction book (2002) -
Lights go down, and all you can hear is 7,500 girls screaming at the top of their lungs, right?
-
It's the night when you might find yourself singing at the top of your lungs with people you've never even spoken to.
-
Robin leaps to his feet and yells at the top of his lungs.
Fiction book (1991) -
The Taiwanese infield all started shouting at the top of their lungs.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
172
1.0
In a way that makes a lot of noise
7
7.2
Extremely, often in a loud or very strong way
2
4.1
As loudly as possible so people can hear
1
7.5
In a very loud or obvious way that people notice easily
1
7.2
In a very loud and excited way
Spoken in a very loud and strong voice
In a very loud and powerful way
Antonyms
How Loud
- Informal
17
4.4
- Informal
2
4.1
172
1.0
517
1.0
586
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + the + top + of + one's + lung
The phrase literally combines 'top' (highest point) and 'lungs' (organs used for breathing/voice), so a learner can infer it means using one's breath to the fullest — i.e., very loudly. However, the mapping from lung capacity to loudness is a metaphorical inference rather than a strictly compositional meaning, so the sense is partly but not fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
At the top of one's lungs creates a clear picture: imagine the sound coming from the top of your chest, your lungs, and bursting out with all your breath. That's why it means 'very loudly' or 'as loudly as possible'.