bleat
1 of 2verb
ˈblēt 
Northern also ˈblat,
Southern usually ˈblāt
bleated; bleating; bleats
intransitive verb
1
a
: to make the natural cry of a sheep or goat
also : to utter a similar sound
b
: whimper
2
a
: to talk complainingly or with a whine
b
: blather
transitive verb
: to utter in a bleating manner
bleater noun
bleat
2 of 2noun
1
: the cry of a sheep or goat
also : a similar sound
the bleat of a cell phone
2
: a feeble outcry, protest, or complaint
Synonyms
Verb
- beef
- bellyache
- bitch
- carp
- caterwaul
- complain
- crab
- croak
- fuss
- gripe
- grizzle
- grouch
- grouse
- growl
- grumble
- grump
- holler
- inveigh
- keen
- kick
- kvetch
- maunder [chiefly British]
- moan
- murmur
- mutter
- nag
- repine
- scream
- squawk
- squeal
- wail
- whimper
- whine
- whinge [British]
- yammer
- yawp
- yaup
- yowl
Noun
- beef
- bitch
- carp
- complaint
- fuss
- grievance
- gripe
- grouch
- grouse
- grumble
- holler
- kvetch
- lament
- miserere
- moan
- murmur
- plaint
- squawk
- wail
- whimper
- whine
- whinge [British]
- yammer
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb The lamb bleated as I approached. “But why can't I go?” she bleated. The labor union is always bleating about the management. Noun a very patient, understanding person who accepts life's inconveniences without a bleat
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Cooper, The Week, 9 Aug. 2021 Watching smug, satisfied 1 percenters bleat on about their unlimited financial options is about as welcome as a wet teddy bear. BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2021 She was booted from her GOP leadership spot for refusing to go along with her reprobate and deceitful Republican colleagues, who continue to lay prostrate before former President Donald Trump and bleat that the election was stolen from him. Mika Brzezinski, NBC News, 17 May 2021 On the small farm that Alberto Barroso runs a few miles from his apartment, the sprightly stems of potatoes and onions peek through fresh soil; his hundreds of goats bleat into the clean air. Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2021 The New York Times will bellow and bleat, And the silence will echo down Mulberry Street. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 3 Mar. 2021 Even those inside that didn’t come out must have heard the truck horns moaning, the air brakes bleating, the hymn of an industrial funeral. New York Times, 31 Mar. 2020 The buck bleated several times but soon stopped struggling. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2020 The season opens with the faintest noise: A single French horn bleats a plaintive melody while a platoon of hoary men from the Royal Mail service, all wearing dark suits, shuffles into a stateroom in Buckingham Palace. Rachel Syme, The New Republic, 12 Dec. 2019 Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2022 In the nine-episode first season—filmed mostly in Troy, New York—viewers hear sheep bleat in Central Park, watch workers sweep away ceaselessly accumulating street dust and listen to the crackling of interior fires. Kimberly Hamlin, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2022 The 93rd Academy Awards ended not with a bang but a bleat. Glenn Whipp Entertainment Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2021 On a recent weekday morning, the shrill bleat of a drill unscrewing a wooden crate echoed over music playing from a small speaker in the building’s rotunda. Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2021 As Bryant scrupulously took notes on dance moves, and Davis practiced his bleat, some moments seemed sure to land differently, even though they were crafted years ago. Michael Paulson, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2021 The alarm continued its steady bleat, the volume seeming to increase. Emma Cline, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020 Hungry fawns often make a soft bleat that has a begging tone to it. Jarrod Spilger, Field & Stream, 6 Dec. 2019 Solar Sister, so tell us—how to, how to disassemble our fragile empire without ballooningthe glottal-bleat system for another. Aria Aber, The New Republic, 17 Apr. 2020 See More
Verb
For decades, conservative Republicans have posed as the party of chest-thumping ultra-patriots who bleat constantly about how America is the best country on the planet. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 9 Aug. 2021 Watching smug, satisfied 1 percenters bleat on about their unlimited financial options is about as welcome as a wet teddy bear. BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2021 She was booted from her GOP leadership spot for refusing to go along with her reprobate and deceitful Republican colleagues, who continue to lay prostrate before former President Donald Trump and bleat that the election was stolen from him. Mika Brzezinski, NBC News, 17 May 2021 On the small farm that Alberto Barroso runs a few miles from his apartment, the sprightly stems of potatoes and onions peek through fresh soil; his hundreds of goats bleat into the clean air. Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2021 The New York Times will bellow and bleat, And the silence will echo down Mulberry Street. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 3 Mar. 2021 Even those inside that didn’t come out must have heard the truck horns moaning, the air brakes bleating, the hymn of an industrial funeral. New York Times, 31 Mar. 2020 The buck bleated several times but soon stopped struggling. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2020 The season opens with the faintest noise: A single French horn bleats a plaintive melody while a platoon of hoary men from the Royal Mail service, all wearing dark suits, shuffles into a stateroom in Buckingham Palace. Rachel Syme, The New Republic, 12 Dec. 2019 Noun
The biographer gave out what could pass for a happy bleat. Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2022 In the nine-episode first season—filmed mostly in Troy, New York—viewers hear sheep bleat in Central Park, watch workers sweep away ceaselessly accumulating street dust and listen to the crackling of interior fires. Kimberly Hamlin, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2022 The 93rd Academy Awards ended not with a bang but a bleat. Glenn Whipp Entertainment Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2021 On a recent weekday morning, the shrill bleat of a drill unscrewing a wooden crate echoed over music playing from a small speaker in the building’s rotunda. Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2021 As Bryant scrupulously took notes on dance moves, and Davis practiced his bleat, some moments seemed sure to land differently, even though they were crafted years ago. Michael Paulson, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2021 The alarm continued its steady bleat, the volume seeming to increase. Emma Cline, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020 Hungry fawns often make a soft bleat that has a begging tone to it. Jarrod Spilger, Field & Stream, 6 Dec. 2019 Solar Sister, so tell us—how to, how to disassemble our fragile empire without ballooningthe glottal-bleat system for another. Aria Aber, The New Republic, 17 Apr. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan; akin to Latin flēre to weep, Old English bellan to roar — more at bellow
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1508, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
bleat 1 of 2
verb
ˈblēt
bleated; bleating
: to make the cry of a sheep, goat, or calf
bleat
2 of 2noun
: the sound made by a sheep, goat, or calf
bleating
verb
1
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely as far as the slumlord was concerned, the unhappy tenants were just bleating about nothing Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- complaining
- screaming
- whining
- moaning
- muttering
- whimpering
- caterwauling
- grizzling
- squawking
- yammering
- wailing
- grumbling
- squealing
- growling
- hollering
- bellyaching
- bitching
- grousing
- whinging
- keening
- murmuring
- crying
- worrying
- carping
- whingeing
- yawping
- yowling
- griping
- kvetching
- kicking
- nagging
- grouching
- maundering
- repining
- beefing
- grumping
- inveighing
- croaking
- protesting
- crabbing
- fussing
- sobbing
- yauping
- kicking up a stink
- blubbering
- caviling
- kicking up a fuss
- quibbling
- lamenting
- cavilling
- fretting
- bewailing
- stewing
- bemoaning
- deploring
- quarrelling (with)
- quarreling (with)
- objecting (to)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rejoicing
- crowing
- delighting
- accepting
- enduring
- bearing
- tolerating
- taking
- applauding
- commending
- cheering
- countenancing
2
as in whimpering
to utter feeble plaintive cries the baby bleated softly as he woke up, then smiled Synonyms & Similar Words
- whimpering
- crying
- mewling
- moaning
- sobbing
- whining
- puling
- weeping
- snuffling
- sniveling
- blubbering
- mumbling
- yelping
- groaning
- bawling
- snivelling
- murmuring
- sniffling
- muttering
- squeaking
- blubbing
- sighing
- peeping
- fussing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- screaming
- shrieking
- screeching
- wailing
- squealing
- howling
- squalling
- squawking
- bellowing
- yowling
- calling
- caterwauling
- roaring