hail

Pluralhails (some meanings)

Formshails, hailing, hailed

Formshailer, hailest

1. 1
   falling icenoununcountable

   Small balls or pieces of ice that fall from clouds, often during a thunderstorm; a fall of such ice.

   A sudden burst of hail stripped the leaves from the orchard trees.

   Farmers dread hail because it can flatten a ripe crop in minutes.

   UsageNo a for the ice: hail fell overnight. For one storm, say a hailstorm.

   Note

   Despite the spelling, it is a different word altogether from the verb of greeting and praise. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The ice noun and the greeting and praise verb have distinct origins. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   come fromverbintransitive

   To come from or originate in a particular place, family, or background, or to be based in a particular place.

   The author and her brothers hail from a long line of seafarers.

   Although she has lived in Chicago for years, her family hails from a small fishing town in Maine.

   UsageAlmost always hail from: she hails from Maine. A slightly more colorful way to say come from.

   Similarcome, originate, stem, derive

3. 3
   praise asverbtransitive

   To greet or welcome someone or something with enthusiasm, or to praise them publicly as admirable, important, or successful.

   Doctors around the world hailed the new treatment as the biggest breakthrough in decades.

   Historians hail the document as the foundation of modern law.

   UsageMost often hail someone as something, often passive: hailed as a hero.

   Similaracclaim, praise, celebrate, herald, welcome

   Oppositecondemn, criticize

   Note

   Older English could leave out the as. Milton's Samson Agonistes (1671) has "all men hail'd me happy". Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • John Milton wrote Samson Agonistes. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
   • The first edition containing Samson Agonistes is dated 1671. christs.cam.ac.uk
   • The quoted words occur in Samson Agonistes, illustrating hail with a complement without as; the speaker is Manoah. en.wikisource.org
4. 4
   flag downverbtransitive

   To signal to the driver of a bus, taxi, or other public vehicle, usually by waving, that you wish to board.

   Londoners routinely hail black cabs in the rain rather than book ahead.

   She hailed a bus at the request stop by waving her arm.

   UsageCommon combinations include hail a taxi, hail a cab, and hail a bus.

   Similarflag, signal

   Note

   Hailing a taxi is ordinary English. This sense extends the same gesture to buses and trams, which in British and Australian use you signal from a stop or the roadside. In Melbourne, a late-night traveler alone at a stop would usually have to hail the tram for it to pull in.

5. 5
   cry of honorinterjectionliterary

   An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, sometimes used as a familiar greeting.

   Hail, mighty queen, the people rejoice at your return.

   Hail and well met, traveler from distant lands.

   UsageOften Hail to + a ruler or hero; in everyday talk it sounds playful.

   Note

   A greeting that wears a crown. Shakespeare's Macbeth, written about 1606, has "Hail, brave friend." It survives in ceremonial, dramatic and liturgical language addressed to rulers, deities and honored figures. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth about 1606; this is a composition date. folgerpedia.folger.edu
   • Macbeth contains the words “Hail, brave friend,” spoken by Malcolm in Act 1, scene 2. Folger punctuates the greeting with an exclamation mark. folger.edu
6. 6
   shower of thingsnouncountable

   A large number of things, such as bullets, stones or questions, arriving fast and all at once.

   The knights advanced under a hail of arrows from the castle walls.

   Reporters met the senator with a hail of difficult questions.

   UsageMost often a hail of: a hail of bullets, a hail of questions.

   Similarbarrage, volley, shower, storm, torrent

   Note

   The weather became a figure for anything that comes down thick and fast. It can also go plural when the barrages are many. Drachinifel's 2019 account of the Battle of Samar speaks of "hails of armor-piercing shells". Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The barrage meaning developed figuratively from the weather meaning. en.wiktionary.org
   • Drachinifel's account of the Battle of Samar dates to 2019 and includes the quoted phrase. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   signal to talkverbtransitive

   To call out or signal to someone, such as a passer-by or a ship, to attract their attention or start communicating.

   The freighter hailed the coast guard to report engine trouble.

   Operators hail incoming ships to confirm their cargo.

   Similarcontact, signal, call

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