whimper
verb/ˈwɪmpə(r)/
/ˈwɪmpər/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they whimper | /ˈwɪmpə(r)/ /ˈwɪmpər/ |
| he / she / it whimpers | /ˈwɪmpəz/ /ˈwɪmpərz/ |
| past simple whimpered | /ˈwɪmpəd/ /ˈwɪmpərd/ |
| past participle whimpered | /ˈwɪmpəd/ /ˈwɪmpərd/ |
| -ing form whimpering | /ˈwɪmpərɪŋ/ /ˈwɪmpərɪŋ/ |
- to make low, weak crying noises; to speak in this way
- The dog whimpered softly.
- The child was lost and began to whimper.
- + speech ‘Don't leave me alone,’ he whimpered.
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsc2- He stirred in her arms, whimpering like a child.
- She was whimpering in fear.
- The boy was whimpering with pain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- quietly
- softly
- slightly
- …
- begin to
- start to
- hear somebody
- …
- in
- with
- whimper like a child
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from dialect whimp ‘to whimper’, of imitative origin.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
whimper