Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

caterwaul

/ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.06 in modern English

Syllables
ca-ter-waul
IPA
/ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.

Intransitive verb

verb

To have a noisy argument, like cats.

Intransitive verb

noun

A yowling.

noun

A noisy quarrel.

Etymology

From Middle English caterwrawen, from cater (“cat”) + wrawen, wrawlen (“cry like a cat”), equivalent to cat + waul. Compare Low German katerwaulen (“to cry like a cat”) and Middle Dutch cater (“tomcat”) (Dutch kater).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/
  • British English: /ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

caterwauls (present, singular) caterwauling (participle, present) caterwauled (participle, past) caterwauled (past) caterwauls (plural)

Derived Forms

caterwauler

Synonyms

yowl

Questions

How do you pronounce caterwaul?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/.
What does caterwaul mean?
To cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
Where does caterwaul come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce caterwaul

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “caterwaul”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “caterwaul”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “caterwaul” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.