whining

1 of 2

adjective

whin·​ing ˈ(h)wī-niŋ 

1

: producing or emitting a prolonged, high-pitched sound : producing a whine

a whining howl

… a coil of steel spins through a whining mass of machinery the size of a small two-story house.

—Edward D. Welles

The fresh wind across the big lake blew away the smoke of cooking fires and vanquished the mosquitoes that came out in whining droves …

—Louise Erdrich

2

: complaining or inclined to complain in a childish or petulant manner

They [scientists] think that … joyful people outlive their bilious, whining counterparts.

—Natalie Angier

Brooks plays a whining, middle-aged screenwriter …

—Leah Rozen

whiningly

ˈ(h)wī-niŋ-lē 

adverb

whining

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or an instance of producing a prolonged, high-pitched sound (such as a cry of distress or pain)

the whining of a dog

… that night she heard a whining and scratching at her door, and when she opened it the lame puppy, drenched and shivering, jumped up on her with little sobbing barks.

—Edith Wharton

2

: the act or activity of complaining in an annoyingly childish or petulant manner

Mom hates whining.

—Ruth Kelley

… but his public whining ("I'm sick and tired of it") didn't do him much good …

—Elizabeth Drew

But "people have begun to come out of that—they're tired of the whining," [J. Walker] Smith says.

—Leslie Miller

Examples of whining in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As the Dodgers officially welcomed their latest gazillionaire pitcher to a remodeling Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, the churning of the bulldozers in the infield was momentarily drowned out by the whining around the baseball world. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024

Or that their child’s whims, extreme whining, or a physical demonstration of their tantrum should be overlooked. —Ashley J. Dimella Fox News, Fox News, 21 Sep. 2024

But the only sound from within was the faint whining of a dog. —Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024

The soundtrack of this and every summer is my incessant whining to the beat of a whirring fan. —Allison Robicelli, Washington Post, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1