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Glite Dictionary
to hail down

to hail down

4.5
To call or wave for a taxi to stop for you
  • phrasal verb
  • /heɪl daʊn/
translation icon : parar
  • It took her several minutes to hail down a taxi in the rain.

Examples

  • Tourists often struggle to hail down a cab during rush hour.

  • You can hail down a bus on this route if there's a safe spot to stop.

  • I need to hail a taxi down!

  • Can you hail down a bus for me?

  • It took her several minutes to hail down a taxi in the rain.

  • Tourists often struggle to hail down a cab during rush hour.

  • You can hail down a bus on this route if there's a safe spot to stop.

Synonyms

to hail
vsto hail down
87 3.8

To call or wave for a taxi to stop for you

is aimed specifically at stopping a vehicle so someone can enter
to flag down
vsto hail down
  • Informal
14 3.3

Signal for a taxi or driver to stop by waving your hand

is used to call a vehicle to stop so you can get in

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to pass by
165 1.2

Go past someone or something without stopping

How Urgent

to flag down
  • Informal
14 3.3
to hail down
4.5
to call out
152 3.5
to gesture
62 3.0

Surface Forms

hail down infinitive
hailed down past
hailed down past participle
hailing down present participle
hails down third person singular

Morphology

hail + down

The core meaning 'to call or signal a vehicle' is directly given by 'hail' (to wave or call to a vehicle); the particle 'down' contributes only a minor directional/colloquial nuance and does not change the basic composition. This is a straightforward, compositional verb + particle use that a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer, so it is transparently derived from its parts.

Etymology

The phrasal verb hail down may come from the image of hail as a loud call and down meaning 'toward you'. Imagine shouting to make a taxi come and stop by you, so the phrase means 'to signal a vehicle to stop'.