SING (sang, singing, sung)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: sang    , singing    , sung   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sing mean? 

• SING (verb)
  The verb SING has 5 senses:

1. deliver by singing

2. produce tones with the voice

3. to make melodious sounds

4. make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound

5. divulge confidential information or secrets

  Familiarity information: SING used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SING (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they sing    ... he / she / it sings   
Past simple: sang   
Past participle: sung   
-ing form: singing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Deliver by singing

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

Sing Christmas carols

Hypernyms (to "sing" is one way to...):

sing (produce tones with the voice)

interpret; render (give an interpretation or rendition of)

Verb group:

sing (to make melodious sounds)

Domain category:

music (musical activity (singing or whistling etc.))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sing"):

solmizate (sing by the syllables of solmization)

troll (sing the parts of (a round) in succession)

hymn (sing a hymn)

carol (sing carols)

madrigal (sing madrigals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They will sing the duet

Derivation:

singer (a person who sings)

singing (the act of singing vocal music)

song (the act of singing)

song (a short musical composition with words)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Produce tones with the voice

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

My brother sings very well

Hypernyms (to "sing" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Domain category:

music (musical activity (singing or whistling etc.))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sing"):

troll (sing loudly and without inhibition)

sing (deliver by singing)

choir; chorus (sing in a choir)

chirp; tweedle (sing in modulation)

solmizate (sing using syllables like 'do', 're' and 'mi' to represent the tones of the scale)

minstrel (celebrate by singing, in the style of minstrels)

psalm (sing or celebrate in psalms)

sing along (sing with a choir or an orchestra)

descant (sing in descant)

harmonise; harmonize (sing or play in harmony)

vocalise; vocalize (sing (each note a scale or in a melody) with the same vowel)

descant on (sing a descant on a main tune or melody)

belt; belt out (sing loudly and forcefully)

hum (sing with closed lips)

treble (sing treble)

quaver; trill; warble (sing or play with trills, alternating with the half note above or below)

descant; warble; yodel (sing by changing register; sing by yodeling)

cantillate; chant; intonate; intone (recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm)

croon (sing softly)

place (sing a note with the correct pitch)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to somebody

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue sing

Derivation:

singer (a person who sings)

singing (the act of singing vocal music)

song (the act of singing)

song (a short musical composition with words)

Sense 3

Meaning:

To make melodious sounds

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The nightingale was singing

Hypernyms (to "sing" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Verb group:

sing (deliver by singing)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s something

Sentence examples:

The birds sing in the woods
The woods sing with many kinds of birds

Derivation:

singer (a person who sings)

song (the characteristic sound produced by a bird)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

sing; whistle

Context example:

the bullet sang past his ear

Hypernyms (to "sing" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue sing

Derivation:

song (a distinctive or characteristic sound)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Divulge confidential information or secrets

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle

Context example:

Be careful--his secretary talks

Hypernyms (to "sing" is one way to...):

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)

Verb group:

spill; talk (reveal information)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

singing (disclosing information or giving evidence about another)

 Context examples 

She was singing in a low tone.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Shall I let you hear me sing now?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Miss Carteret was very anxious to have a general idea of what was next to be sung.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

“Well sung, by my hilt!” shouted the archer in high delight.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I never sing. Well, I wish you a good journey.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Jorinda was just singing, when her song stopped suddenly.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The wave causes the plasma surrounding the spacecraft to sing.

(Sun sends more 'tsunami waves' to Voyager 1, NASA)

But I don't want to play, or sing, or say anything.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

When he was very near I heard him crying, in vexed fashion, “Why in hell don’t you sing out?”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Behind him would be Mit-sah, the great whip singing in his hand.

(White Fang, by Jack London)