Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

hail

1 American  
[heyl] / heɪl /

verb (used with object)

  1. to cheer, salute, or greet; welcome.

  2. to acclaim; approve enthusiastically.

    The crowds hailed the conquerors. They hailed the recent advances in medicine.
    Synonyms:
    extol, proclaim, laud, exalt, honor, applaud, acclaim

  3. to call out to in order to stop, attract attention, ask aid, etc..

    to hail a cab.

verb (used without object)

  1. to call out in order to greet, attract attention, etc..

    The people on land hailed as we passed in the night.

noun

  1. a shout or call to attract attention.

    They answered the hail of the marooned boaters.

  2. a salutation or greeting.

    a cheerful hail.

  3. the act of hailing.

interjection

  1. (used as a salutation, greeting, or acclamation.)

verb phrase

  1. hail from to have as one's place of birth or residence.

    Nearly everyone here hails from the Midwest.

idioms

  1. within hail, within range of hearing; audible.

    The mother kept her children within hail of her voice.
hail 2 American  
[heyl] / heɪl /

noun

  1. showery precipitation in the form of irregular pellets or balls of ice more than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) in diameter, falling from a cumulonimbus cloud (sleet ).

  2. a shower or storm of such precipitation.

  3. a shower of anything.

    a hail of bullets.

verb (used without object)

  1. to pour down hail (often used impersonally with it as subject).

    It hailed this afternoon.

  2. to fall or shower as hail.

    Arrows hailed down on the troops as they advanced.

verb (used with object)

  1. to pour down on as or like hail.

    The plane hailed leaflets on the city.
hail 1 British  
/ heɪl /

noun

  1. small pellets of ice falling from cumulonimbus clouds when there are very strong rising air currents

  2. a shower or storm of such pellets

  3. words, ideas, etc, directed with force and in great quantity

    a hail of abuse

  4. a collection of objects, esp bullets, spears, etc, directed at someone with violent force

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr; with it as subject) to be the case that hail is falling

  2. to fall or cause to fall as or like hail

    to hail criticism

    bad language hailed about him
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hail 2 British  
/ heɪl /

verb

  1. to greet, esp enthusiastically

    the crowd hailed the actress with joy

  2. to acclaim or acknowledge

    they hailed him as their hero

  3. to attract the attention of by shouting or gesturing

    to hail a taxi

    to hail a passing ship

  4. to be a native (of); originate (in)

    she hails from India
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act or an instance of hailing

  2. a shout or greeting

  3. distance across which one can attract attention (esp in the phrase within hail )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

  1. poetic an exclamation of greeting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hail Scientific  
/ hāl /

  1. Precipitation in the form of rounded pellets of ice and hard snow that usually falls during thunderstorms. Hail forms when raindrops are blown up and down within a cloud, passing repeatedly through layers of warm and freezing air and collecting layers of ice until they are too heavy for the winds to keep them from falling.

hail Cultural  

  1. Pellets of ice that form when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops to high altitudes, where the water freezes and then falls back to Earth. Hailstones as large as baseballs have been recorded. Hail can damage crops and property.

hail More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing hail

    • within call (hail)

Other Word Forms

  • hailer noun

Etymology

Origin of hail1

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb heilen, hailen, derivative of hail “healthy, sound,” from Old Norse heill; cognate with Old English hǣl; heal, wassail

Origin of hail2

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun hail, haiel, ail, Old English hæg(e)l, hagol; cognate with German Hagel, Old Norse hagl

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He hailed the progress made in rebuilding relations.

From BBC

The combined cost of the RSA headquarters office tower in Mobile and the renovation of the hotel—hailed as a showpiece for the convention market—was $162 million.

From The Wall Street Journal

She hailed the ratification by the two South American countries as "good news".

From Barron's

The My Voice, My Choice group behind the initiative has hailed the decision as a victory for women in Europe and a political commitment to women's rights.

From BBC

This week, in fact, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni hailed the second season currently unfolding over a 15-hour shift on Independence Day, calling it a civics lesson.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.