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# whine

verb (whine, whines, whined, whining); noun (a whine)

«whine» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To complain in an annoying, high, unhappy voice, often about small things. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#m1)
2. Of a dog or another animal: to make a long, high, sad sound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#m2)
3. Of a machine: to make a long, high, steady noise, like a drill or a jet engine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#m3)
4. (noun) The sound itself, or a complaint. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#m4)

### In the lessons

In everyday life parents say "Stop whining!" when children complain. In stories, a dog whines at the door to go out, and engines whine. Calling someone "a whiner" is a bit unkind. Phrases: "whine about", "stop whining", "the whine of an engine".

### Examples

- Stop whining and eat your carrots. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x1)
- The dog whined at the door to go out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x2)
- My brother whines whenever it's his turn to wash up. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x3)
- We heard the whine of the dentist's drill. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x4)
- The jet engine gave a high whine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x5)
- "It's not fair," she whined. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x6)
- The puppy gave a little whine when we left. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x7)
- The whine had changed to a sort of humming purr that seemed to come from every quarter of the compass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/#x8)

### Note

Regular verb: whined, whining. Homophone trap: "whine" sounds like "wine" (a drink made from grapes); only "whine" has an h. In the USA "whine" is common for complaining; in the UK people also say "moan" or "whinge" (whinge is also used in Australia).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «whine» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whine/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«whine» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/whine.html) on Mova free.