SQUALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does squall mean? 

• SQUALL (noun)
  The noun SQUALL has 1 sense:

1. sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation

  Familiarity information: SQUALL used as a noun is very rare.

• SQUALL (verb)
  The verb SQUALL has 3 senses:

1. make high-pitched, whiney noises

2. utter a sudden loud cry

3. blow in a squall

  Familiarity information: SQUALL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SQUALL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("squall" is a kind of...):

air current; current of air; wind (air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "squall"):

line squall (a squall advancing along a front that forms a definite line)

Derivation:

squall (blow in a squall)

squally (characterized by brief periods of violent wind or rain)

• SQUALL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they squall    ... he / she / it squalls   
Past simple: squalled   
Past participle: squalled   
-ing form: squalling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make high-pitched, whiney noises

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

squall; waul; wawl

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

howl; roar; ululate; wail; yaup; yawl (emit long loud cries)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Utter a sudden loud cry

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell

Context example:

I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me

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

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

Verb group:

call (utter in a loud voice or announce)

call out; cry; cry out; exclaim; outcry; shout (utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy)

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

hollo (cry hollo)

hurrah (shout 'hurrah!')

halloo (shout 'halloo', as when greeting someone or attracting attention)

whoop (shout, as if with joy or enthusiasm)

pipe; pipe up; shriek; shrill (utter a shrill cry)

howl; roar; ululate; wail; yaup; yawl (emit long loud cries)

screak; screech; skreak; skreigh; squawk (utter a harsh abrupt scream)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Blow in a squall

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Context example:

When it squalls, a prudent sailor reefs his sails

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

blow (be blowing or storming)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

squall (sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation)

 Context examples 

Rain-squalls were driving in between, and I could scarcely see the fog.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The squall of the child went through him like a knife.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“Take the Georges, Pew, and don't stand here squalling.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Then she sprang away, up the trail, squalling with every leap she made.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Of course the children tyrannized over her, and ruled the house as soon as they found out that kicking and squalling brought them whatever they wanted.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

A supercell is more likely to produce hail than a squall line, for example.

(Facial recognition technique could improve hail forecasts, National Science Foundation)

If so, we must look out for squalls, for a strong man with homicidal and religious mania at once might be dangerous.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The poor man squalled terribly, and the colonel and his officers were in much pain, especially when they saw me take out my penknife: but I soon put them out of fear; for, looking mildly, and immediately cutting the strings he was bound with, I set him gently on the ground, and away he ran.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A succession of heaves from the back of the crowd had sent a series of long ripples running through it, all the heads swaying rhythmically in the one direction like a wheatfield in a squall.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A rain-squall drove past, and out of the flying wet the boat emerged, almost upon us.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)