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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

sing.

To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈsɪŋ/[ˈsɪŋ]/ˈsiŋ/[ˈsiŋ] ~ [ˈsɪ̝ŋ]
  1. To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.

    intransitive
    "I really want to sing in the school choir," said Vera.
  2. To perform a vocal part in a musical composition, regardless of technique.

    intransitive
  3. To express audibly by means of a harmonious vocalization.

    transitive
    sing a lullaby
  4. To soothe with singing.

    transitive
    to sing somebody to sleep
  5. Of birds, to vocalise: To produce a 'song', for the purposes of defending a breeding territory or to attract a mate.

    ambitransitive
  6. Of birds, to vocalise: To produce any type of melodious vocalisation.

    ambitransitive · literary
  7. To rejoice.

    idiomatic
    My heart was singing.
  8. To confess under interrogation.

    idiomatic · intransitive · slang
  9. To make a small, shrill sound.

    intransitive
    The air sings in passing through a crevice.
    a singing kettle
  10. To relate in verse; to celebrate in poetry; to praise.

    ambitransitive
  11. To display fine qualities; to stand out as excellent.

    idiomatic · intransitive
    The sauce really makes this lamb sing.
  12. To be capable of being sung; to produce a certain effect by being sung.

    ergative
  13. In traditional Aboriginal culture, to direct a supernatural influence on (a person or thing), usually malign; to curse.

    Australia
  14. To yell or shout.

    archaic · slang
Where this word comes from

From Middle English singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”), West Frisian sjonge (“to sing”), Dutch zingen (“to sing”), German Low German singen (“to sing”), German singen (“to sing”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synge (“to sing”), Swedish sjunga (“to sing”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Faroese, and Icelandic syngja (“to sing”), Ancient Greek ὀμφή (omphḗ, “voice, oracle”).

noun/ˈsɪŋ/[ˈsɪŋ]/ˈsiŋ/[ˈsiŋ] ~ [ˈsɪ̝ŋ]
  1. The act, or event, of singing songs.

    I sometimes have a quick sing in the shower.
  2. Any sound likened to human singing.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”), West Frisian sjonge (“to sing”), Dutch zingen (“to sing”), German Low German singen (“to sing”), German singen (“to sing”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synge (“to sing”), Swedish sjunga (“to sing”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Faroese, and Icelandic syngja (“to sing”), Ancient Greek ὀμφή (omphḗ, “voice, oracle”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.