to sing
- verb
- /sɪŋ/
- Apparently this candle sings happy birthday.
- make it sing
When spring plugs yellow in and water sings.
- When spring plugs yellow in and water sings.
- Make the guitar sing and talk, you know, It sounds so good.
- I pick the phone up, the dial tone begins to sing.
- So instead it would sing basically a sonar tune as kind of like an eerie violin on the Titanic.
Examples
-
The roses in the gardens sang softly, attracting tiny sound bees in tight-packed silver clouds.
Fiction book (1993) -
In the distance, voices were singing the university fight song at a morning pep rally.
Fiction book (1993) -
See if it sings on its own.
-
I love the way it sings, all the joy that it brings.
-
Sing real loud in the shower.
-
Still, at times like this, with the wheels singing beneath him, Fish feels better about his life.
Fiction book (1992) -
People are gone, birds and insects silent; only the crickets sing in the grass.
Academic text (2003) -
The sounds you hear will be the birds singing or water lapping at the sides of the mokoro.
Academic text (1999) -
Folklore has it that cicadas singing on a summer morning portend a hot day.
Academic text (2002) -
The wind blew through the trees, making the branches sing softly.
Synonyms
To make a high sound by blowing air through your lips or a small device
To make a loud, high, sharp sound that startles people
To make a short high sound when things move or rub together
To make a long, high sound like a pig or excited child
To make a high thin sound like a small bird or child
To make a short, high sound like a small bird, insect, or electronic device
To make a short high sound like a small bell, for example on a phone
To make a long high, unpleasant sound like a machine
To make short high noises like a small bird's call
To make a very high, sharp sound often as a cry
To make a short high sound like a baby bird
To make a soft high sound like a kitten
Make a short high sound with lips or a small device to get attention
To make a short, high, harsh sound like an owl or old gate
To make a high, loud, wailing sound like bagpipes
To make a short high whistling sound like a small bird
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
How High-Pitched
Surface Forms
Etymology
The sense of sing for things comes from the same idea of a voice: objects 'sing' when they make a high, clear sound, like a kettle that 'sings' on the stove. So saying a saw or a bullet 'sang' simply means it made a sharp, whistling or musical noise.