Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: hwinan 'to move through the air with a loud sound'

whine

 verb
     
Related topics: Colours and Sounds
whine
1 [intransitive and transitive] to complain in a sad, annoying voice about something [= moan]:
Oh Charlotte, please stop whining.
'I don't understand,' whined Rose.
whine about
The sergeant was whining about how hard he had been forced to work recently.
2C [intransitive] to make a long high sound because you are in pain or unhappy:
He could hear the dog whining behind the door.
3C [intransitive] if a machine whines, it makes a continuous high sound
—whine noun [countable]
The baby's howl turned to a high-pitched whine.
the whine of a vacuum cleaner
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary