yell
/jɛl/verb, noun, adjective
yell is spelled Y-E-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Yell, the name). As a verb, yell means “To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in yell?
| Letters | 4: Y-E-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.1 times per million words; the 8,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is yell?
Yell appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Yell, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce yell?
- /jɛl/
Yell has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-yell.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of yell
- yells present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- yelling participle, present
- yelled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yell mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement.
- 2
To convey by shouting.
He yelled directions to the party from the car.
- 3
informalTo tell someone off, to scold or rebuke, typically in a loud and angry manner.
If I come home late again, my dad is gonna yell at me.
noun
- 1
A shout.
- 2
A phrase to be shouted.
adjective
- 1
dry (of cow)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense shout (verb):
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hurler, gueuler |
| German | schreien |
| Portuguese | gritar |
| Spanish | gritar, vociferar, vocear, gritonear, exclamar, huchear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does yell come from?
From Middle English ȝellen, yellen, from Old English ġiellan, from Proto-Germanic *gellaną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian gälje (“to yell”), Dutch gillen (“to yell”), German Low German gellen (“to yell”), German gellen (“to yell”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).