Join free

moan

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

moan¹

  • /məʊn/ UK
  • /moʊn/ US

Sounds like mown · Rhymes with -əʊn

Where it comes from

From Middle English mone, mane, mān, (also as mene), from Old English *mān, *mǣn (“complaint; lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *mainu, from Proto-Germanic *mainō (“opinion; mind”).

Cognate with Old Frisian mēne (“opinion”), Old High German meina (“opinion”). Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (“to complain over; grieve; mourn”). More at mean.

noun moans

  1. A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure. let out a deep moan
  2. obsolete A lament or sorrow. to make one's moan

verb moans · moaning · moaned · moan

  1. UK, transitive To complain about; to bemoan, to bewail; to mourn. Much did the Craven seeme to mone his case […].
  2. intransitive, poetic To grieve.

    Similar: lament, aggrieve, besorrow, condole, darken, engrieve, erme, gloom, grieve, grieven, bleed, moan

  3. intransitive To make a moan or similar sound. She moaned with pleasure and squirmed with delight from receiving oral sex.
  4. transitive To say in a moan, or with a moaning voice. ‘Please don't leave me,’ he moaned.
  5. colloquial, intransitive To complain; to grumble.

    Similar: whine, beef, bellyache, bemoan, bitch, bleat, whimper, carp, chunter, complain, crab, croak

  6. obsolete, transitive To distress (someone); to sadden. which infinitely moans me

    Similar: deject, aggrieve, attrist, begloom, begrieve, besorrow, grieve, pain, bring down, come down on, contristate, darken

moan²

  • /məʊn/ UK
  • /moʊn/ US

Sounds like mown · Rhymes with -əʊn

adjective more moan · most moan

  1. Of or pertaining to a moa.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: groan, sough, gripe, complain, bewail, bemoan, lamentation, lament, mourn, deplore, kick, bemoaned, wail, grumble, murmur, mutter

Translations

Every language

noun a low cry of pain

Españolgemido, quejido
한국어신음 sineum
日本語呻き umeki, 呻き声 umekigoe
中文呻吟 shēnyín, 哀鸣 aīmíng
हिन्दीकराह karāh
Portuguêsgemido, lamento
Françaisgémissement
DeutschStöhnen, Ächzen
Italianogemito
Românăgeamăt, gemete
Русскийстон ston

verb to grieve (poetic)

Deutschwehklagen, beklagen

verb to make a moan or similar sound

Españolgemir
한국어신음(呻吟)하다 sineumhada
日本語呻く umeku
中文呻吟 shēnyín
Portuguêsgemer
Françaisgémir, mugir
Deutschstöhnen, ächzen
Italianogemere
Românăgeme
Русскийстона́ть stonátʹ
Tiếng Việtrên rỉ
العربيةتَأَوَّهَ taʔawwaha

verb to say with a moaning voice

Deutschjammern, stöhnen, schluchzen

verb to complain

Españolquejar
Portuguêsqueixar-se, reclamar
Françaisse plaindre, geindre
Deutschklagen, beklagen
Italianolamentarsi

verb to grumble (colloquial)

Deutschmaulen, murren, motzen

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"moan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/moan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

moan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/moan

Chicago

"moan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/moan.

BibTeX
@misc{moan_2026,
  title = {moan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/moan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}