Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To produce a sustained, high-pitched, plaintive sound, as in pain, fear, or complaint.
- intransitive verb To complain or protest in a childish or annoying fashion.
- intransitive verb To produce a sustained noise of high pitch.
- intransitive verb To utter with a whine.
- noun The act of whining.
- noun A whining sound.
- noun A complaint uttered in a sustained, high-pitched tone.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To utter a plaintive protracted sound expressive of distress or complaint; moan as a dog, or in a childish fashion.
- To complain in a puerile, feeble, or undignified way; bemoan one's self weakly.
- To utter in a plaintive, querulous, drawling manner: usually with out.
- noun A drawling, plaintive utterance or tone, as the whinny of a dog; also, the nasal puerile tone of mean complaint; mean or affected complaint.
- noun In hunting, the noise made by an otter at rutting-time.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To utter or express plaintively, or in a mean, unmanly way.
- noun A plaintive tone; the nasal, childish tone of mean complaint; mean or affected complaint.
- intransitive verb To utter a plaintive cry, as some animals; to moan with a childish noise; to complain, or to tell of sorrow, distress, or the like, in a plaintive, nasal tone; hence, to complain or to beg in a mean, unmanly way; to moan basely.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
long-drawn ,high-pitched complaining cry orsound - noun a
complaint orcriticism - verb intransitive To utter a high-pitched cry.
- verb intransitive To make a sound resembling such a cry.
- verb intransitive To complain or protest with a whine or as if with a whine.
- verb intransitive To move with a whining sound.
- verb transitive To utter with the sound of a whine.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb complain whiningly
- verb move with a whining sound
- noun a complaint uttered in a plaintive whining way
- verb make a high-pitched, screeching noise
- verb talk in a tearful manner
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Great, so we get to hear Sarah Palin whine somemore.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Is Sarah Palin a “Victim” of Computer Hacking 2010
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Whatever your personal whine is about Wurster, it's not about you.
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In roar of shell and shrapnel and in whine of machine-guns will our answer be couched. 10 We will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces.
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Great, so we get to hear Sarah Palin whine somemore.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Is Sarah Palin a “Victim” of Computer Hacking 2010
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#402, Obama just signs one of the most significant pieces of legislation in a Century and that retarded nonsense whine is the best you moron republicans can say in response?
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This is just another whine from the far right against ANYTHING President Obama does ...... want proof?
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The whine is that there are no CA wines to fit the cuisine.
Home field disadvantaged – NYT on SF wine lists | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
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The perennial whine is that men age better than women, but I honestly don't think that's true – it's all down to conditioning, and the fact that lived-in female faces are so absent from approved commercial images that we haven't learned to appreciate them by adjusting our aesthetic expectations accordingly.
Spotted: an older woman on screen Anne Billson 2010
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The standard big business whine is that they will leave WA and go to another state.
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#402, Obama just signs one of the most significant pieces of legislation in a Century and that retarded nonsense whine is the best you moron republicans can say in response?
oroboros commented on the word whine
Sometimes, during the middle of the night, this one guy'd wake himself up and make himself whine just so he'd know he was still alive.
--Jan Cox
August 29, 2007