Meaning & use
crowing
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“crowing” is a form of “crow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountabledisapproving
Loud, boastful talk expressing triumph or satisfaction, especially after a success.
Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'his crowing' or 'such crowing', not 'a crowing'.
Patterns
- crowing about something
- crowing over something
There was a lot of crowing from the winning team after the match.
I don't want to hear any crowing about your exam results.
His constant crowing about his promotion annoyed everyone.
verbintransitive
To make the loud call of a rooster, especially at dawn.
Grammar: Intransitive: no object; often used in the continuous form: 'The rooster is crowing.'
Patterns
- crow (at dawn)
- a rooster crows
The rooster started crowing at the crack of dawn.
We could hear a rooster crowing in the distance.
Roosters crow to mark their territory.
Word forms
| third person singular | crows |
|---|---|
| past tense | crowed |
| past participle | crowed |
| -ing form | crowing |
Common combinations
- a rooster crowing
- A rooster crowing woke us up early.
- crowing about something
- He kept crowing about how much money he had made.
- crowing over a victory
- The fans were crowing over their team's victory.
- constant crowing
- Her constant crowing about her grades was tiresome.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boasting
- Boasting is a more general word for talking with too much pride; 'crowing' is more specific and often suggests loud, triumphant talk after a success.
- bragging
- Bragging means talking proudly about what you have or can do; 'crowing' often implies gloating over someone else's failure or your own victory.
Word family
- crow verb
- To make the loud cry of a rooster; also to boast.
Commonly confused: crowing or crowding?
crowing vs crowding
Crowding means many people or things filling a space; 'crowing' is about a rooster's call or boastful talk.
Practice
After winning the championship, the team couldn't stop ______ about their victory.
Choose one answer.
'Crowing' means boastful talk after success. 'Crowding' means filling a space, 'crawling' means moving on hands and knees, and 'crowing over' is possible but less common and would need an object like 'crowing over their rivals'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crowing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.