Meaning & use
sing
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To make music with your voice, usually following a tune and often using words.
Grammar: Can take an object or stand alone: sing a song, she sings well.
Patterns
- sing something
- sing to someone
- sing about something
The children sang a birthday song for their teacher.
She sings in a local choir every Thursday.
He likes to sing in the shower.
verbintransitive
To make musical sounds, as birds and some insects do.
Grammar: Takes no object: the birds were singing.
Birds began to sing at dawn.
The crickets sang all night outside the window.
A single blackbird sang from the roof.
verbintransitiveslang
To tell the police or others a secret, especially about a crime, usually to avoid punishment.
Grammar: Usually used alone or with to: he sang to the police.
Patterns
- sing to someone
The thief sang as soon as the detectives questioned him.
Nobody expected the gang member to sing.
He will sing if the police offer him a deal.
verbintransitiveliterary
To make a high, continuous ringing or whistling sound.
Grammar: Often describes wind, kettles or the ears: my ears were singing.
The kettle sang on the stove.
The wind sang through the wires.
After the loud concert, my ears were still singing.
Word forms
| third person singular | sings |
|---|---|
| past tense | sang |
| past participle | sung |
| -ing form | singing |
Common combinations
- sing a song
- Could you sing a song for us?
- sing along
- Everyone began to sing along to the chorus.
- sing out of tune
- He sings out of tune but enjoys it.
- sing in the choir
- My cousin sings in the church choir.
- sing someone's praises
- Customers sing the praises of the new cafe.
- sing for your supper
- Guests were expected to sing for their supper by telling stories.
Synonyms and how they differ
- croon
- Croon means to sing softly and sentimentally, while sing covers any style or volume.
- chant
- Chant suggests repeating words or a few notes in a rhythmic way, whereas sing usually has a full melody.
- warble
- Warble describes a trembling, bird-like sound, and is narrower than sing.
- inform
- Inform is formal for giving information, while sing in the criminal sense is slang.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sing or sang vs sung?
sing vs sang vs sung
Sang is the simple past (she sang), and sung is the past participle used after have or was (she has sung; it was sung).
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
After has, the past participle sung is needed. Sang is the simple past, and singed is unrelated to music.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.