SING


Meaning of SING in English

sing S1 W2 /sɪŋ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense sang /sæŋ/, past participle sung /sʌŋ/)

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ singer , ↑ singing ; verb : ↑ sing ; adjective : ↑ unsung ]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: singan ]

1 . WITH YOUR VOICE [intransitive and transitive] to produce a musical sound with your voice:

She can sing beautifully.

Most children enjoy singing.

We had a great time singing some of the old songs.

sing to

My mother used to sing to me when I was young.

He was singing to himself quietly.

sing somebody something

Come on, sing us a song!

I’ve never been able to sing in tune (=sing the correct notes) .

She patiently sang the baby to sleep.

⇨ ↑ singing

2 . BIRDS [intransitive] if birds sing, they produce high musical sounds:

I could hear the birds singing outside my window.

3 . HIGH NOISE [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to make a high whistling sound:

A kettle was singing on the stove.

sing past

A bullet sang past my ear.

4 . sing sb’s praises to praise someone very much:

Mrs Edwards was singing your praises today.

5 . sing a different tune to say something different from what you said before:

You’re singing a different tune now!

6 . be singing from the same hymn sheet/book used to say that a group of people all have the same aims or all express the same opinion on a particular subject:

Union representatives are all singing from the same hymn sheet on the issue of pay.

7 . GIVE INFORMATION [intransitive] informal to tell people everything you know about a crime when they ask you questions about it – used especially by criminals and the police:

I think he’ll sing.

sing along phrasal verb

to sing with someone else who is already singing:

Sing along if you know the words.

sing along to

Jess was singing along to the radio.

sing out phrasal verb

1 . sing out (something) to shout or sing some words clearly and loudly:

‘Freeze!’ a shrill voice sang out.

2 . American English to sing loudly so that people can hear you easily

sing up phrasal verb British English

to sing more loudly:

Sing up, boys, I can’t hear you!

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.