moan

UK: /ˈməʊn/ US: /moʊn/ ,(mōn)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

moan /moʊn/   n. 

[countable]
1. a low, sad, or miserable sound expressing suffering or complaint:
   more moans about low pay.
2. any similar sound:
   the moan of the wind.

v. 

3. to utter moans:
   [no object] He moaned softly with pain.
4. (of the wind, etc.) to make a sound like such moans:
   [no object] Outside the wind moaned and howled.
5. to complain;
   grumble: [no object]
   She's always moaning about some little pain.
   [~ + (that) clause]
   He moaned that his salary was too low.
   [used with quotations]:
   "I feel awful,'' he moaned.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

moan  (mōn), n. 

1. a prolonged, low, inarticulate sound uttered from or as if from physical or mental suffering.
2. any similar sound:
   the moan of the wind.
3. complaint or lamentation.

v.i. 

4. to utter moans, as of pain or grief.
5. (of the wind, sea, trees, etc.) to make any sound suggestive of such moans:
   The wind moaned through the trees.

v.t. 

6. to utter (something) inarticulately or pitifully, as if in lamentation:
   He moaned his response.
7. to lament or bemoan:
   to moan one's fate.

• Middle English mone, man(e) (noun, nominal), Old English *mān, inferred from its derivative mǣnan to mourn 1175–1225

moan′ful, adj. 
moan′ful•ly, adv. 
moan′ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. See groan.
• 4.  grieve.
• 4, 7. mourn.
• 7. deplore.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

moan / məʊn/ noun

1. a low prolonged mournful sound expressive of suffering or pleading
2. any similar mournful sound, esp that made by the wind
3. a grumble or complaint

verb

1. to utter (words) in a low mournful manner
2. (intransitive) to make a sound like a moan
3. (usually intr) to grumble or complain (esp in the phrase moan and groan)

Etymology: 13th Century: related to Old English mǣnan to grieve over

ˈmoaner noun

ˈmoanful adjective

ˈmoaning noun , adjective