Bleat \Bleat\, n. A plaintive cry of, or like that of, a sheep.
The bleat of fleecy sheep. --Chapman's Homer.
Bleat \Bleat\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Bleated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bleating}.] [OE. bleten, AS. bl?tan; akin to D. blaten, bleeten, OHG. bl[=a]zan, pl[=a]zan; prob. of imitative origin.] To make the noise of, or one like that of, a sheep; to cry like a sheep or calf.
Then suddenly was heard along the main, To low the ox, to bleat the woolly train. --Pope
The ewe that will not hear her lamb when it baas, will never answer a calf when he bleats. --Shak.
Some engineering companies may bleat about poor markets, but Smiths Industries has quietly focused on getting its costs in line with its prospects.
'Very well, alone' was a brave and stirring battle-cry half a century ago; today it is the pathetic bleat of the self-deluded.