verb (used without object)
- to sing or hum in a soft, soothing voice: to croon to a baby.
- to sing in an evenly modulated, slightly exaggerated manner: Popular singers began crooning in the 1930s.
- to utter a low murmuring sound.
- Scot. and North England.
- to bellow; low.
- to lament; mourn.
verb (used with object)
- to sing (a song) in a crooning manner.
- to lull by singing or humming to in a soft, soothing voice: to croon a child to sleep.
noun
- the act or sound of crooning.
verb
- to sing or speak in a soft low tone
noun
- a soft low singing or humming
c.1400, originally Scottish, from Middle Dutch kronen “to lament, mourn,” perhaps imitative. Originally “to bellow like a bull” as well as “to utter a low, murmuring sound” (mid-15c.). Popularized by Robert Burns. Sense evolved to “lament,” then to “sing softly and sadly.” Related: Crooned; crooning.