bleat
Of a sheep, goat, or calf: to make its characteristic cryOf a sheep, goat, or calf: to make its characteristic cry; of a human, to mimic this sound.
» The goats bleated in the barn.
Die Ziegen meckerten im Stall.
Meaning
3 senses(onomatopoeic)Of a sheep, goat, or calf: to make its characteristic cry; of a human, to mimic this sound.
Near-synonym: baa (sheep and goat)
blöken
бле́ятьbléjatʹ
(derogatory, informal)Of a person, to complain.
Near-synonyms: kvetch, moan, whinge, whine, holler
The last thing we need is to hear them bleating to us about organizational problems.
blöken
бле́ятьbléjatʹ
(derogatory, informal)Of a person, to say things of little importance to the listener.
Near-synonyms: drone on, go on
- cry plaintively
- talk whiningly
Examples
33 sentencesThe goats bleated in the barn.
deDie Ziegen meckerten im Stall.
The goats were bleating in the barn.
deDie Ziegen meckerten im Stall.
The goat bleated loudly to get attention.
Benedito heard a goat bleating and went to investigate.
Peter succeeded in finding the lost sheep thanks to its bleating.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”), from Proto-West GermanicFrom Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”), from Proto-West Germanic *blātijan, from Proto-Germanic *blētijaną (“to bleat”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to howl, cry, bleat”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to make a loud noise”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
bleats, bleating, bleated, bleatedSynonyms
10 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle