bleat
/bli:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- The characteristic cry of a sheep or goat: A short, wavering vocal sound made by these animals.
- Any similar weak, plaintive sound: A sound resembling the cry of a sheep or goat, often used to describe a feeble or complaining human voice.
Verb:
- To make the characteristic cry of a sheep or goat: To utter the sound "baa."
- To speak or complain in a weak, whining, or foolish manner: To talk with a feeble, nasal, or irritating quality.
Examples of Usage
Noun:
- The only sound in the field was the occasional bleat of a lamb.
- He answered with a pathetic bleat of protest.
Verb:
- The lost kid goat began to bleat for its mother.
- Don't just bleat about the problem; suggest a solution.
Advanced Usage
- "to bleat on (about something)": To complain or talk about something in a persistent, whining, or tedious way.
- He's always bleating on about how unfair the system is.
Variants and Related Words
- Bleater (noun, informal): A person who complains in a weak or whining manner.
- Bleating (noun/adjective): The act or sound of bleating. Can describe a weak, complaining voice.
- We could hear the constant bleating of the flock.
- He ignored their bleating objections.
Synonyms
- Noun: Baa, cry (of a sheep/goat).
- Verb: Baa, cry (for animals); whine, complain, moan, whimper (for people, with nuanced differences in tone and persistence).
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Bleat out: To say something in a weak, crying, or complaining voice.
- The frightened child bleated out an apology.
Related Idioms
- While there are no major idioms with "bleat" as the core word, the verb is often used metaphorically to criticize ineffective complaining.
- Politicians who bleat about deficits but never vote for cuts.
Noun
- the sound of sheep or goats (or any sound resembling this)
Verb
- cry plaintively
- The lambs were bleating
- talk whiningly