yell

American  

[yel] / yɛl /

verb (used without object)

1. to cry out or speak with a strong, loud, clear sound; shout.

   He always yells when he is angry.

2. to scream with pain, fright, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to utter or tell by yelling.

   to yell an order to the troops.

noun

1. a cry uttered by yelling.

2. a cheer or shout of fixed words or syllables, as one adopted by a school or college to encourage a team.

yell British  

/ jɛl /

verb

1. to shout, scream, cheer, or utter in a loud or piercing way

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noun

1. a loud piercing inarticulate cry, as of pain, anger, or fear

2. a rhythmic cry of words or syllables, used in cheering in unison

Other Word Forms

• outyell verb (used with object)
• yeller noun

Etymology

Origin of yell

First recorded before 1000; (for the verb) Middle English yellen, Old English gellan, giellan; cognate with German gellen to resound, Dutch gillen; akin to Old English galan “to sing” ( nightingale ); noun derivative of the verb

Example Sentences

Ortega: If I yell in my real life, other people will go, “I know you’re upset, but it is funny.”

From Los Angeles Times

“But he is probably wondering why you yelled at him when he saw us.”

From Literature

A girl with pink hair and heavily lined eyes yells over the noise from her perch on the end of one of the white leather sectionals.

From Literature

Some observers yelled at staffers and got in the face of Cathy Darling Allen, the longtime registrar, who installed a 7-foot metal fence to keep them at bay.

From Los Angeles Times

Scream queen Samara Weaving has an extraordinary yell: shrill, feral and ferocious, like a mongoose before it goes on the attack.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hoot
• howl
• screech
• shriek
• squawk
• squeal
• wail
• whoop
• yelp