bleat

noun

1. (onomatopoeic)The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.

verb

1. (onomatopoeic)Of a sheep, goat, or calf: to make its characteristic cry; of a human, to mimic this sound.

   “Near-synonym: baa (sheep and goat)”

   “In the year 1633, the Bridget Nuns, near Xanthus, behaved like sheep, jumping about and bleating continuously.”

2. (derogatory, informal)Of a person, to complain.

   “Near-synonyms: kvetch, moan, whinge, whine, holler”

   “The last thing we need is to hear them bleating to us about organizational problems.”

3. (derogatory, informal)Of a person, to say things of little importance to the listener.

   “Near-synonyms: drone on, go on”

   “She came skipping to me just now, clapping her little hands and bleating about how very, very happy she was, dear Mrs Travers. The silly young geezer. I nearly conked her one with my trowel.”

   “I can't have, for instance, Heracles come bleating to me at some future date, asking please can he have his bow back, and getting all stroppy when I refuse to tell him where it is.”

   “Am I the odd one out for thinking this is quite alarming? That I should find it weird to see a 41-year-old influencer bleating about her “bleph”.”