n.
- Precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter.
- Something that falls with the force and quantity of a shower of ice and hard snow: a hail of pebbles; a hail of criticism.
v., hailed, hail·ing, hails. v.intr.
- To precipitate in pellets of ice and hard snow.
- To fall like hailstones: Condemnations hailed down on them.
To pour (something) down or forth: They hailed insults at me.
[Middle English, from Old English hægel, hagol.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
