whin·ing
ˈ(h)wī-niŋ 
1
: producing or emitting a prolonged, high-pitched sound : producing a whine
a whining howl
… a coil of steel spins through a whining mass of machinery the size of a small two-story house.—
Edward D. Welles
Edward D. WellesThe fresh wind across the big lake blew away the smoke of cooking fires and vanquished the mosquitoes that came out in whining droves …—Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich2
: complaining or inclined to complain in a childish or petulant manner
They [scientists] think that … joyful people outlive their bilious, whining counterparts.—Natalie Angier
Natalie AngierBrooks plays a whining, middle-aged screenwriter …—Leah Rozen
Leah Rozen1
: the act or an instance of producing a prolonged, high-pitched sound (such as a cry of distress or pain)
the whining of a dog
… that night she heard a whining and scratching at her door, and when she opened it the lame puppy, drenched and shivering, jumped up on her with little sobbing barks.—Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton2
: the act or activity of complaining in an annoyingly childish or petulant manner
Mom hates whining.—Ruth Kelley
Ruth Kelley… but his public whining ("I'm sick and tired of it") didn't do him much good …—Elizabeth Drew
Elizabeth DrewBut "people have begun to come out of that—they're tired of the whining," [J. Walker] Smith says.—Leslie Miller
Leslie MillerExamples of whining in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024
The soundtrack of this and every summer is my incessant whining to the beat of a whirring fan.
—Allison Robicelli, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
For all my whining, though, these categories are so challenging precisely because our city is so incredibly rich with phenomenal choices.
—Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 13 June 2024
For people such as former Secretary of Education William Bennett, Obama's election meant that an era of racial whining sanctioned by the excesses of the civil rights and black nationalist movements had ended.
—Jonathan Holloway, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2014
See all Example Sentences for whining 
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Noun
But the only sound from within was the faint whining of a dog.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024
The soundtrack of this and every summer is my incessant whining to the beat of a whirring fan.
—Allison Robicelli, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
For all my whining, though, these categories are so challenging precisely because our city is so incredibly rich with phenomenal choices.
—Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 13 June 2024
For people such as former Secretary of Education William Bennett, Obama's election meant that an era of racial whining sanctioned by the excesses of the civil rights and black nationalist movements had ended.
—Jonathan Holloway, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2014
See all Example Sentences for whining
Dictionary Entries Near whining
Cite this Entry
“Whining.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whining. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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