bawling

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Crying very loudly and without trying to hold back, like a small child who is hurt or upset.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by a reason or with your eyes out: the baby was bawling.

   Patterns

   • be bawling
   • bawl your eyes out
   • bawl with something

   The toddler sat on the pavement bawling because his ice cream had fallen.

   I could hear the baby bawling through the wall all night.

   She was bawling her eyes out at the end of the film.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   Shouting something in a loud, rough voice.

   Grammar: With an object it carries the words: bawling orders. Without one, it often takes at: bawling at the referee.

   Patterns

   • bawl at someone
   • bawl something out
   • bawl for someone

   The sergeant was bawling orders across the parade ground.

   A man outside the pub was bawling for a taxi.

   Fans were bawling abuse at the referee from the stands.

3. 3verbphrasal verbinformal

   Scolding someone angrily, usually with a raised voice (in the phrasal verb bawl out).

   Grammar: Separable and informal: bawling him out or bawling out the staff.

   Patterns

   • bawl someone out
   • bawl someone out for something

   The coach was bawling the players out for their sloppy passing.

   My boss bawled me out in front of the whole office.

   She felt awful after bawling out her brother over a broken cup.

Word forms

Common combinations

bawling baby

A bawling baby in the next row made the long flight harder.

bawling her eyes out

She was bawling her eyes out when she heard the news.

bawling at

He was bawling at the dog to come back.

bawling orders

The foreman stood on a crate bawling orders at the crew.

bawling out

Stop bawling out the new recruits; they are still learning.

Synonyms and how they differ

sobbing

Sobbing stresses the shaky, broken breathing of grief and is usually quieter than the open-mouthed noise of bawling.

wailing

Wailing suggests a long, high cry of grief or pain, whereas bawling is rougher and often childlike.

blubbing

Blubbing is a British informal word for crying messily, with a slightly mocking tone.

bellowing

Bellowing fits the shouting sense better, since it means roaring in a deep, powerful voice and has nothing to do with tears.

Word family

bawl verb

to cry or shout loudly

bawl noun

a loud cry or shout

bawled adjective

said or cried out loudly, as in a bawled complaint

bawl-out noun

an angry scolding

Commonly confused: bawling or bowling?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “bawling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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