croon
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to sing (a song) in a crooning manner.
-
to lull by singing or humming to in a soft, soothing voice.
to croon a child to sleep.
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- crooner noun
- crooningly adverb
Etymology
Origin of croon
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cronen, from Middle Dutch: “to lament”
Explanation
To croon is to sing a soft or emotional song. A father might croon a lullaby to his baby as she falls asleep. Elvis Presley was known to croon to the ladies. The verb croon is originally a Scottish word, from the Middle Dutch root kronen, "to lament or mourn." When you croon, you hum or sing in a soft, low voice, like your heart is breaking. You might croon to your child or sweetheart, or maybe you croon in the shower. In the 1930s and 40s, a "crooner" was a singer who was known for specializing in sentimental jazz songs.
Vocabulary lists containing croon
"The People Could Fly," Vocabulary from the folk tale
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hearing Nat King Cole croon about chestnuts roasting on an open fire dozens of times is one of the many reminders that fireplaces are luxuries most of us don’t have.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
More recent interpreters underline the song’s vast reach, from Harolyn Blackwell’s operatic radiance and Norah Jones’s hushed Tanglewood version to Kenny Barron’s pensive piano meditation and Willie Nelson’s weathered country croon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” felt like a gentle croon as compared to the frantic desperation of the original, but still felt decisive.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2025
Del Rey’s feathery croon was totally wrong for the song, which calls for an unembarrassed quality that’s not part of her whole deal.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2025
The woman took his palm, spat on it—he flinched, but she hung on to it— rubbed it with her thumb, and began to croon.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
