How to Use moan in a Sentence

moan

1 of 2 noun
  • She let out a long, deep moan.
  • The child’s eyes were swollen and milky, their mouth agape in a silent moan.
    — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 23 May 2026
  • Along with these moans, something foamy came out of his mouth.
    — Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Their sounds—peeps, moans, and donkey-like brays—bounce off the mountains.
    — Janice Wald Henderson, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 June 2019
  • Suddenly, the moans and screams were drowned out by a new sound overhead.
    — Gaia Vince, Quartz, 8 June 2019
  • From chirps to moans, this vet has your chatty cat’s vocab covered.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 29 Oct. 2019
  • The doors opened with slow creaking moans, and all the feet that entered turned into knees.
    — Silvina Ocampo, The New Yorker, 11 July 2019
  • While the pair walked in the hallway, Willis would stare at her breasts and moan, the lawsuit says.
    — Dallas News, 1 Nov. 2022
  • Yankees fans, despite some moans along the way, are pretty happy with a wild card berth.
    — Jeff Jacobs, courant.com, 3 Sep. 2017
  • In Lyuh’s deft hands, its piercing moan sounded more like a blues guitar than any of those.
    — Zoë Madonna, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Of course there were the initial screams and the side-splitting moans, sounds that came from some nameless part of her body.
    — Hilary Leichter, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2020
  • Most of these are held in a tent, from which loud, ecstatic moans can be heard for seemingly miles around.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
  • As if in acknowledgement of the fact, the rhino lets out a doleful moan.
    — Henry Nicholls, Scientific American, 30 May 2012
  • Imagine a city street at dusk, silent save for the rising sound of a collective guttural moan.
    — Tom Duszynski, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025
  • On the Volga a man started with valour and ended with a moan, which is called a song.
    — The Economist, 21 Dec. 2019
  • What Happens Live host asks his son, who replies with an affirming moan.
    — Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 25 Nov. 2021
  • Walking down the streets, locals can hear the moans and sobs of heartbroken mothers.
    — Christina Goldbaum, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2023
  • Vaughan gives me permission to write, and to turn moans into music.
    — John Williams, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2020
  • On Friday, a guest was disturbed by moans coming from Miller’s room.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2020
  • Often the moans of satisfaction around her were what woke her from her dreams of fishermen.
    — Jennifer Gilmore, Harper’s Magazine , 13 Mar. 2023
  • Males are known to emit a songs of complex melodies, comprised of moans, cries and chirps, and their choruses can last for hours at a time.
    — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The air grew heavy with anticipation and then, low and deep and melancholy as whale song, came the first moan of a ship’s horn.
    — New York Times, 12 May 2022
  • Today marks the unofficial last weekend of summer (cue the moans and groans).
    — Alysha Witwicki, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2017
  • And Simon called, imitating the mournful moan of a cow moose.
    — Lisa Demer, Alaska Dispatch News, 29 Sep. 2017
  • Thanks to the band, no one heard the moans—and everyone but the hapless patient assumed the treatment didn’t hurt a bit.
    — Erin Blakemore, Longreads, 19 May 2017
  • When a disc is placed against the duck’s chest, the robot acts out the emotion, unleashing happy chirps or uneasy moans.
    — Peter Holley, Washington Post, 20 June 2019
  • The moans and whispers of the other prisoners had quieted, like the calm before a storm.
    — David Canfield, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2019
  • The 2013 game seemed to take sadistic pleasure in Lara’s injuries and moans of pain.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Under Hiller, the Kings went into the Olympic break with a whimper and came out of it with a moan.
    — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The squeaks and moans grow more complex as humpbacks add their own embellishments, akin to a folk singer changing a chorus.
    — Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2023

moan

2 of 2 verb
  • The wind moaned in the trees.
  • The wounded soldier moaned in pain.
  • He moaned with pleasure as she rubbed his back.
  • I'm tired of all his moaning and groaning about his salary.
  • We were all moaning about the cold, rainy weather.
  • He's always moaning about his salary.
  • The children were moaning and groaning all morning, but their mother would not let them go outside.
  • Passersby hear its shrieks and moans from the road.
    — Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
  • But a male voice could be heard moaning in the background.
    — Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Fennell begins on a black screen and the sound of creaks and moans.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Watch a few how-to YouTube videos and learn to cluck and moan.
    — Jace Bauserman, Field & Stream, 2 Jan. 2020
  • The boat heaved back and forwards, and the wind moaned outside.
    — Laurie Hertzel, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • From the other room, the victim moaned.
    — Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The wood gave off a pungent, earthy smell and the wind moaned through the tall oaks and pines.
    — Roy Berendson, Popular Mechanics, 28 Sep. 2018
  • All the while, the crowd moaned and heaved with every shot, save and clearance.
    — Patrick Brennan, Cincinnati.com, 28 June 2017
  • Alyssa was able to swipe open the call and moan into the phone, with her baby by her side.
    — Madeleine Marr, miamiherald, 7 May 2018
  • Clubhouse is known for rooms where people swap stock tips, chat sports or even moan like whales.
    — Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Ellis could be heard moaning and could be seen lying on the ground.
    — Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Ellis could be heard moaning and could be seen lying on the ground.
    — Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Please do not moan, Dodgers fans, about the unfairness of it all.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2022
  • Mathews will moan, trudging out to the barn on a rainy day to feed the horses.
    — Mary Colurso | [email protected], al, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Your trick-or-treaters and guests will turn on their heels the minute old Drake starts to moan and scream.
    — Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 15 Sep. 2022
  • Julia says, dropping to all fours and moaning amid a pile of straw on the floor.
    — Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The human shape moaned again, and that was enough to give Bo his second wind.
    — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 8 July 2018
  • The score by Joseph Bishara is shivery with chorales that moan like wraiths in the wind.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The only people who moan about fame are the people who are in the bubble.
    — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 25 Oct. 2017
  • One man moans after an instructor yanks him by the ankles back down the hill.
    — USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
  • The grass is always greener, people moan.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
  • In the first audio clip, someone can be heard moaning loudly in pain.
    — Mark Price and Joe Marusak, charlotteobserver, 19 Jan. 2018
  • Cassandra heard the girl moan and saw her mother, who was clearly dead.
    — Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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