Definition of Caterwaul

1. Noun. The yowling sound made by a cat in heat.

Generic synonyms: Cry

2. Verb. Utter shrieks, as of cats.
Exact synonyms: Yowl
Generic synonyms: Pipe, Pipe Up, Shriek, Shrill
Derivative terms: Yowl

Definition of Caterwaul

1. v. i. To cry as cats in rutting time; to make a harsh, offensive noise.

2. n. A caterwauling.

Definition of Caterwaul

1. Verb. (intransitive) To cry as cats in rutting time; to make a harsh, offensive noise. ¹

2. Verb. (intransitive) To have a noisy argument, like cats. ¹

3. Noun. A yowling. ¹

4. Noun. A noisy quarrel. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Caterwaul

1. [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Caterwaul

catermauls
caterpillar
caterpillar-hair ophthalmia
caterpillar-tracked
caterpillar cell
caterpillar dermatitis
caterpillar flap
caterpillar rash
caterpillar skiing
caterpillar track
caterpillar tracks
caterpillar tread
caterpillar tree
caterpillars
caters
caterwaul (current term)
caterwauled
caterwauler
caterwaulers
caterwauling
caterwauls
catery
cates
catface
catfaces
catfacing
catfacings
catfall
catfalls
catfight

Literary usage of Caterwaul

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Student's Pastime: Being a Select Series of Articles Reprinted from "Notes by Walter William Skeat (1896)
"caterwaul. I (6 S. x. 237; 1884). I merely give the old etymology found in ... caterwaul. II (6 S. x. 356; 1884). The suggestion made in N. and Q. 6 SX 317 ..."

2. Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches. a Quarterly Magazine Descriptive of (1901)
"Send the whisper round that caterwaul or Hat Trick will win—we have plenty of chaps ready to ... Let's see,' said Jack ; 'who rides caterwaul and the other? ..."

3. A Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words: Especially from the Dramatists by Walter William Skeat, Anthony Lawson Mayhew (1914)
"... to make an inarticulate noise, to caterwaul; ' Cats that ... (sv caterwaul). wray, to disclose. Gascoigne, Works, i. 41. ..."

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