Word of the Day: Bleat

bleat / blēt

 

verb

 

1. to utter the wavering cry of a sheep or goat

The feeble howl with the wolves, bray with the asses, and bleat with the sheep.

Madame Roland, 1754-1793

 

2. to talk with a whine in the voice

The dull rhythmic tramp of the soldiers’ boots formed the background to Goldstein’s bleating voice.

From ‘1984’ by George Orwell, 1903-1950

 

3. to whimper

Nothing discourages unwanted questions as much as a flow of pious bleating.

From ‘A Storm of Swords’ by George R. R. Martin, 1948-

 

noun

 

1. the sound made by a sheep or goat

Essentially your truest poetic sentence is as free and lawless as a lamb’s bleat.

Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

 

2. a feeble protest; a whimper

Centaine hugged the infant so hard that Shasa gave a little bleat of protest.

From ‘The Burning Shore’ by Wilbur Smith, 1933-

 

3. a sound similar to that of a sheep or goat

And thanks to the generosity of some village residents, the sounds of those warning bleats from the trains that pass through will stop.

Jennie Key, ?-