whine
English · Thesaurus
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whine
- /ˈwaɪ̯n/ Western
- [ˈwaɪ̯n] Western
- /ˈʍaɪ̯n/ Western
- [ˈʍaɪ̯n] Western
- /ˈw̥aɪ̯n/ Western
- [ˈw̥aɪ̯n] Western
- /ʋ(h)ajn/ South Asia
Sounds like wine (wine–whine merger), wine, vine (without aspiration) · Rhymes with -aɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English whynen, hwinen, whinen, from Old English hwīnan (“to rush, to whizz, to squeal, to whine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hwīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Old Norse hvína, whence Icelandic hvína, Norwegian Nynorsk kvina, Swedish vina, and Danish hvine. Despite the strong similarity in sound and meaning, not related with German weinen, Dutch wenen, from Proto-Germanic *wainōną (for which see dialectal English ween (“to weep, lament”)).
noun whines
- A long-drawn, high-pitched complaining cry or sound. The 18-year-old [Justin] Bieber can’t quite pull off the “adult” thing just yet: His voice may have dropped a bit since the days of “Baby,” but it still mostly registers as “angelic,” and veers toward a pubescent whine at times.
- A peevish or self-pitying complaint or criticism. I need to have a quick whine about my boss before we start talking about the holiday.
verb whines · whining · whined · whine
- To utter a high-pitched cry.
- To make a sound resembling such a cry. The jet engines whined at take off.
- To complain or protest with a whine (compare whinge) or as if with a whine, i.e. in a peevish or self-pitying way. [S]he was one of your ſoft ſpoken, canting, whining hypocrites, who with a truly jeſuitical art, could wreſt evil out of the moſt inoffenſive thought, word, look or action; […]
- To move with a whining sound. The jet whined into the air.
- To utter with the sound of a whine. The child whined all his complaints.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: whimper, yammer, yawp, snivel, grizzle, gripe, cry, pule, mourn, cant, carp, wail, whinge, whingeing, whing, wailing
Translations
Every language
noun long-drawn, high-pitched complaining cry or sound
| Español | gimoteo, lloriqueo |
|---|---|
| Português | ganido |
| Français | pleurnicherie, geignement |
| Deutsch | Jaulen, Heulen, Jammern, Gejammer |
| Italiano | piagnisteo, lagna, sibilo, piagnucolio, frigno, uggiolio |
| Română | văietare, văitare, tânguire |
| Русский | вой voj |
| Tiếng Việt | thở dài |
verb to utter a whine
| Español | gimotear, lloriquear, llorisquear, mañosear |
|---|---|
| Português | ganir |
| Français | couiner |
| Deutsch | jaulen, heulen, jammern, winseln |
| Italiano | piagnucolare |
| Română | văita, văieta, tângui |
| Русский | выть vytʹ, завывать zavyvatʹ, взвывать vzvyvatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | rên rỉ |
verb to make a sound resembling such a cry
| Español | gemir |
|---|---|
| Português | ganir |
| Italiano | sibilare |
| Русский | выть vytʹ, завыть zavytʹ |
verb to complain or protest with a whine or as if with a whine
| Español | gimotear, lloriquear, mañosear |
|---|---|
| Português | lamuriar |
| Français | pleurnicher, geindre, chouiner |
| Deutsch | jaulen, heulen, jammern, quengeln, weinen |
| Italiano | piagnucolare |
| Română | văita, văieta, jelui |
| Русский | плакаться plakatʹsja, скулить skulitʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | than vãn |
verb to move with a whining sound
| Русский | ~ с воем |
|---|
verb to utter with the sound of a whine
| Русский | прорыдать prorydatʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "whine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/whine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. whine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/whine "whine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/whine.Cite this
@misc{whine_2026,
title = {whine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/whine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
