# hail

/ˈheɪɫ/ (US) · /hˈeɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hail
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to call for a taxi

verb · CEFR B1

to wave or call out to get the attention of a taxi or a bus.

For teachers: to signal or call out to a vehicle, such as a taxi or watercraft, to request it to stop.

- We stood on the corner for ten minutes trying to hail a taxi in the rain.
- The businessman stood at the curb, raising his arm to hail a passing cab as the evening rush hour began to peak.

### 2. to praise

verb · CEFR B2

to describe someone or something as being very good or successful.

For teachers: to acclaim or enthusiastically acknowledge the excellence of a person or achievement.

- Critics hail the new movie as the best film of the year.
- The international community continues to hail the peace treaty as a landmark achievement in modern diplomacy.

### 3. to come from a place

verb · CEFR B2

to come from or have been born in a particular place.

For teachers: to originate from or have one's birthplace in a specific location; used with the preposition 'from'.

- Our new teacher hails from a small village in the mountains.
- Although she has lived in London for decades, she originally hails from a coastal town in western Australia.

Usage: Always used with the preposition 'from'.

### 4. weather

verb · CEFR B1

when small balls of ice fall from the sky like rain.

For teachers: to precipitate small pellets of ice; used as an impersonal verb with 'it'.

- It started to hail so hard that we had to pull the car over.
- The sky turned a bruised purple, and it began to hail, with ice pellets bouncing violently off the pavement.

### 5. frozen rain

noun · CEFR B1

small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky.

For teachers: precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps of ice.

- The hail was so large that it damaged the roof of the greenhouse.
- A sudden storm brought heavy hail that flattened the crops and dented several vehicles parked outside.

### 6. a large number of things

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

a large number of things, like bullets or insults, directed at someone all at once.

For teachers: a rapid and intense barrage of objects or comments directed at a target.

- The politician faced a hail of angry questions from the crowd.
- The retreating soldiers were met with a hail of gunfire from the ridge above the valley.

## Examples

- The hail damaged several cars in the parking lot.
- A sudden storm brought heavy hail that flattened the wheat in the fields within minutes.
- The roof's integrity was compromised after a relentless barrage of hail, with some stones measuring several centimetres in diameter, battered the shingles.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.