caterwaul

/ˌkædərˈwɔl/

Other forms: caterwauling; caterwauled; caterwauls

A caterwaul is a yowl, shriek, or loud cry. If you've ever heard two cats fighting, you know what a caterwaul sounds like.

While a caterwaul can be made by a person, it's more likely the wailing sound that a distressed or fighting animal makes. To make this sound is to caterwaul — it's both a noun and verb. Cats are, in fact, the animal best known to caterwaul, and the word is believed to come from the German katerwaulen, "cry like a cat," or possibly the Middle Dutch cater, "tomcat," and Middle English waul, "yowl."

Definitions of caterwaul

1. verb

   utter shrieks, as of cats
   synonyms: yowl

   type of:

   pipe, pipe up, shriek, shrill

   utter a shrill cry
2. noun

   the yowling sound made by a cat
   type of:

   cry

   the characteristic utterance of an animal