I. ˈsiŋ verb
( sang ˈsaŋ, -aiŋ ; or sung ˈsəŋ ; sung also sang ; singing ; sings )
Etymology: Middle English singen, from Old English singan; akin to Old High German singan to sing, Old Norse syngja, Gothic singwan to sing, Middle Welsh de ongl to explain, Greek omphē voice, oracle and probably to Prakrit saṃghai to say, teach
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to produce musical tones by means of the voice
b. : to utter words in musical tones and with musical inflections and modulations
to sing at one's work
children that dance and sing
c. : to produce in a proper or skilled manner tones generated by vibrations of the vocal cords and resonated by the various oral cavities ; also : to deliver songs, arias, or other compositions in the character of a trained or professional singer
sing extremely well
sing for charity or in opera
2. : to make a shrill whining or whistling sound
a kettle singing on the hearth — Elizabeth Goudge
the high overtone of the saw … singing when it runs free — American Guide Series: Arkansas
bullets hit the road surface and sung off — Ernest Hemingway
3.
a. : to relate, describe, or celebrate something in verse
sings of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table
poets sang of the natural man — American Guide Series: Minnesota
gave substance and reality to the beauty of which he sang — H.M.Reynolds
b. : to compose poetry : make verse
it was in blank verse that she sang — Virginia Woolf
c. : to convey in or through words a feeling or sense of rhythm
writes a prose remarkable for its live and lyric qualities; she makes the language sing — Charles Lee
the second means of writing prose that sings is to train yourself to feel the cadence of words — Grace Fletcher
his lyrics sing and flow, with simple, fresh imagery, with delicacy and often humor — Eleanor Sickels
4.
a. : to produce musical or harmonious sounds
grasshoppers chirping and birds singing — G.B.Shaw
frogs and crickets sang — Rex Ingamells
most mysterious thing about a pack of hounds is the way they sing or … chime — Thurstan Holland-Hibbert
b. : to give forth such sounds when played
when the violin sang — J.D.Carr
to hear the heavy tuba sing sweetly — Arthur Berger
5. obsolete : to chant or intone a religious observance
sad and solemn priests still sing for Richard's soul — Shakespeare
6.
a. : to be filled with a humming or buzzing : ring
next moment her ears were singing — Audrey Barker
b. : to be heard repetitively in the imagination : echo
their murmured words of farewell sang in my ears — Eula Long
voice saying, Remember my party, Remember my party, sang in his ears — Virginia Woolf
7. : to be fit or apt for vocal rendition
thinks Medea sings as well as any concert work she knows — Time
any translation would be something of a pity when it sings so well in French — Douglas Watt
8. : to make a cry : call — usually used with out
heard the captain of his escort sing out to him in the darkness — Winston Churchill
“You don't feel weak, or anything?” she sung out at me — Mary R. Rinehart
9. : to give evidence or information
is tough enough to have his goons dispatch anyone who dares to sing to a crime commission — A.H.Weiler
sang to a grand jury in return for a promise of leniency — Time
don't let him know we sung on him — Priest Collins
transitive verb
1.
a. : to utter with musical inflections ; especially : to interpret in musical tones produced by the voice
sing a tune
sing the tenor part
b. : to produce vocally the musical tones of
sing G
2.
a. : to relate, describe, or celebrate (something) in verse
singing the beauties of the garden and of simplicity — John Ciardi
in antique style it sings the loss of friends and fields — H.O.Taylor
as men have loved their lovers … and sung their wit, their virtue, and their grace — Edna S.V. Millay
b. : to announce or proclaim in a clear or resonant manner
stationmaster singing the stops to the west coast
— often used with out
the bell singing out the hour of midnight
3. : chant , intone
a high mass of requiem … will be sung — New York Times
4.
a. : to bring or accompany to a place or state by singing
sings the child to sleep
his blithe and cheerful verse sang itself into the memory — Brander Matthews
b. : to move or drive by singing
hopes to sing away his troubles
•
- sing one's praises
- sing the blues
II. noun
( -s )
: the act of singing: as
a. : a singing especially in company
an all-night gospel sing down South — Furman Bisher
b. : a ritualistic ceremony of a primitive society consisting largely of chanting
without instruction the Navajo chorus at a sing provides a moving choral performance — Joyce R. Muench
III. abbreviation
1. single
2. singular
3.
[Latin singulorum ]
of each