Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😩 To complain 😩 A complaint 🔊 To make a high sound
to whine

to whine

18 2.6
To make a long high, unpleasant sound like a machine
  • verb
  • /waɪn/
translation icon : emitir un zumbido agudo
  • The turret is hydraulically operated with hand controls; it whines and clanks as it rotates.
  • engines whined
  • servos whined
  • saws whine

You set that parking brake and let my cell phone whine.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The puppy began whining in the garage, and John looked toward the noise, puzzled.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • For months, chainsaws whined from the ridgetop, seeming farther away than they were.

    Academic text (2010)

  • I've been listening to these fans whine all out there for the last month.

  • The motor drive on the camera whined, the flash recycled, and fired again.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The engine fired and whined high, the choke sticking the way it does sometimes in the cold.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The wind whined and shrieked, making it difficult for Roy to hear anything else.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The pump at the pool kicked on, whined sharply, and settled into its comatic hum.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The throb of an engine turning over, slowly gaining power, gears whining impatiently.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The old refrigerator began to whine as it struggled to keep the food cold.

  • I noticed the engine whine when I pressed the accelerator too hard.

Synonyms

to screech
vsto whine
86 4.0

To make a loud, high, sharp sound that startles people

is a long unpleasant high sound that may be less piercing
to squeak
vsto whine
82 1.4

To make a short high sound when things move or rub together

is the long unpleasant high sound rather than a brief noise
to sing
vsto whine
78 7.8

To make a high thin sound like a whistle

is a long, unpleasant high sound rather than a ringing tone
to squeal
vsto whine
61 3.0

To make a long, high sound like a pig or excited child

is used for similar long unpleasant sounds also made by machines or objects
to wawl
vsto whine
9.9

To make a long, high, sad noise like crying

is the neutral long unpleasant sound often not showing emotion
to waul
vsto whine
  • Archaic
9.9

To make a loud, high, sad sound like a cat's cry

is the general long unpleasant noise not specifically plaintive
to waah
vsto whine
  • Informal
9.9

To cry in a high, complaining way like a baby

is the long unpleasant sound not used mainly as an imitation
to screak
vsto whine
  • UK
9.9

To make a short, high, harsh sound like an owl or old gate

is the long unpleasant high sound without stressing rough shrillness
to skreak
vsto whine
9.9

To make a loud, high, harsh sound like a scream

is the long unpleasant high sound rather than a sudden scream
to wheep
vsto whine
9.9

To make a short high whistling sound like a small bird

is the long unpleasant high sound rather than a brief childlike cry

How High-Pitched

to shriek
72 2.9
to whine
18 2.6
buzz
64 1.0
to whirr
16 6.7
to hum
49 1.0

Surface Forms

whine infinitive
whined past
whined past participle
whining present participle
whines third person singular

Etymology

Whine comes from a very old English sound-word that imitated a long, high noise. So to whine can mean 'to make a long, high, unpleasant sound', which fits machines, bullets, or animals that give a sharp, continuous noise.