/ heɪl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
[ usually passive ] hail sb/sth (as) sth to describe sb/sth as being very good or special, especially in newspapers, etc. :
[ vn ]
The conference was hailed as a great success.
[ vn - n ]
Teenager Matt Brown is being hailed a hero for saving a young child from drowning.
2.
[ vn ] to signal to a taxi or a bus, in order to get the driver to stop :
to hail a taxi / cab
3.
[ vn ] ( literary ) to call to sb in order to say hello to them or attract their attention :
A voice hailed us from the other side of the street.
4.
[ v ] when it hails , small balls of ice fall like rain from the sky :
It's hailing!
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PHRASAL VERBS
- hail from ...
■ noun
1.
[ U ] small balls of ice that fall like rain :
We drove through hail and snow.
2.
[ sing. ] a ~ of sth a large number or amount of sth that is aimed at sb in order to harm them :
a hail of arrows / bullets
a hail of abuse
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun and verb sense 4 Old English hagol , hægl (noun), hagalian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hagel and German Hagel .
verb senses 1 to 3 Middle English : from the obsolete adjective hail healthy (occurring in greetings and toasts, such as wæs hæil : see wassail ), from Old Norse heill , related to hale and whole .