Word page
To yodel means to sing by rapidly switching between chest voice and head voice; also the style of singing itself. It belongs to speech, noise, and verbal nonsense and works best in complaints about jargon, gossip, fuss, and the many noises people make with language. It is still understandable today, but it usually sounds more vivid and deliberate than ordinary modern vocabulary.
Yodel means to sing by rapidly switching between chest voice and head voice; also the style of singing itself. It is usually pronounced YOH-dəl, and today it is still readable to modern audiences, even if it sounds more deliberate than everyday speech.
If you yodel, you to sing by rapidly switching between chest voice and head voice; also the style of singing itself. The verb usually suggests something more expressive, comic, or textured than a plain everyday substitute.
Yodel feels absurd because it has more texture than the plain alternative, giving the idea an extra bit of theatrical, comic, or overbuilt energy.
Yodel is generally traced to borrowed from Germanic alpine traditions. In modern use, the history matters less than the strong tone the word still carries.
Yodel is uncommon today, but it still makes sense to modern readers because the tone and meaning come across quickly once you see it in context.
Use yodel when a plain action verb feels too flat and you want the sentence to carry more motion, tone, or comic texture. It works especially well in complaints about jargon, gossip, fuss, and the many noises people make with language.
sing, warble, trill, call
speak flatly, murmur
Edited by Absurd Words. Last updated: May 9, 2026. See the editorial policy for how definitions, examples, labels, and update checks are handled on the site.
