1
: precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps usually consisting of concentric layers of clear ice and compact snow
2
: something that gives the effect of a shower of hail
a hail of rifle fire
hailed; hailing; hails
1
: to precipitate hail (see hail entry 1)
it was hailing hard
2
: to pour down or strike like hail
Bullets were hailing down on them.
hailed; hailing; hails
1
2
: to greet or summon by calling
hail a taxi
: to call out
especially
: to call a greeting to a passing ship
1
—used to express acclamation
hail to the chief—
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott2
archaic
—used as a salutation
1
: an exclamation of greeting or acclamation
greeted the emperor with a hail
2
: a calling to attract attention
3
: hearing distance
stayed within hail
Synonyms
Examples of hail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebViviane Eng, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Bubble tea, or boba, is the national drink of Taiwan, the country the 27-year-old hails from.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The Four Seasons hails from Universal Television, where Fey’s Little Stranger banner has been based with an overall deal for years.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
And much of this content hails the shooters as these heroes or anti-heroes who are striking back against bullies.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
As Joe Biden this week hailed America’s booming economy as the strongest in the world during a reelection campaign tour of battleground-state Pennsylvania, global finance chiefs convening in Washington had a different message: cool it.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
About 10% of those patients hail from outside California.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Israel on Sunday hailed its air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying the systems thwarted 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory.
—Tia Goldenberg, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2024
Environmental groups hailed the rule change as a way to ensure accountability from energy companies that have long had cheap access to federal lands.
—Matthew Daly, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding will be possible as a line of storms will move east across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cisco, and Gainesville overnight.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2024
Storms could be strong to severe and have a large hail (2 inches in diameter) and damaging winds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The National Weather Service warned of severe weather from Friday through Sunday, with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Colorado home insurance rates climb Climate risks, like wildfires and hail storms, drive Colorado’s surging home insurance premiums.
—Sara B. Hansen, The Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2024
As looming thunderstorm clouds spit out baseball-sized hail and torrential rain, a narrow whirlwind of air stretches its way toward the ground, signaling the arrival of one of nature’s most violent phenomena: a tornado.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Friday’s weather should be isolated mainly to rains, with winds not expected to gust much higher than 25 miles per hour and hail less likely.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Any storm Tuesday could produce damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
One month later, upward of 20,000 protesters, hailing across generations and ethnic lines, marched in solidarity with him.
—Viviane Eng, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Bubble tea, or boba, is the national drink of Taiwan, the country the 27-year-old hails from.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The Four Seasons hails from Universal Television, where Fey’s Little Stranger banner has been based with an overall deal for years.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
And much of this content hails the shooters as these heroes or anti-heroes who are striking back against bullies.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
As Joe Biden this week hailed America’s booming economy as the strongest in the world during a reelection campaign tour of battleground-state Pennsylvania, global finance chiefs convening in Washington had a different message: cool it.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
About 10% of those patients hail from outside California.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Israel on Sunday hailed its air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying the systems thwarted 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory.
—Tia Goldenberg, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2024
Environmental groups hailed the rule change as a way to ensure accountability from energy companies that have long had cheap access to federal lands.
—Matthew Daly, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Noun
In addition to dozens of tornado reports, Friday saw 33 damaging wind reports and 60 large hail reports.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding will be possible as a line of storms will move east across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cisco, and Gainesville overnight.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2024
Storms could be strong to severe and have a large hail (2 inches in diameter) and damaging winds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The National Weather Service warned of severe weather from Friday through Sunday, with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Colorado home insurance rates climb Climate risks, like wildfires and hail storms, drive Colorado’s surging home insurance premiums.
—Sara B. Hansen, The Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2024
As looming thunderstorm clouds spit out baseball-sized hail and torrential rain, a narrow whirlwind of air stretches its way toward the ground, signaling the arrival of one of nature’s most violent phenomena: a tornado.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Friday’s weather should be isolated mainly to rains, with winds not expected to gust much higher than 25 miles per hour and hail less likely.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Any storm Tuesday could produce damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hail. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hail
1 of 5 noun1
: small lumps of ice that fall from clouds sometimes during thunderstorms
2
: something that gives the effect of falling hail
a hail of bullets
hail
2 of 5 verb1
: to fall as hail
2
: to pour down like hail
hail
3 of 5 interjection1
—used to express enthusiastic approval
2
archaic
—used as a greeting
hail
4 of 5 verb1
a
b
: to greet with enthusiastic approval : acclaim
hailed them as heroes
2
: to summon by calling
hail a taxi
3
: to call out to
hail a passing ship
hail
5 of 5 noun1
: an act or instance of hailing
2
: hearing distance
stayed within hail
Etymology
Noun
Old English hægl "lumps of ice, hail"
Interjection
Middle English hail (an interjection of approval or greeting), derived from early Norse heill "healthy" — related to hale entry 1, wassail
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