From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhailhail1 /heɪl/ ●○○ verb 1 [transitive] to describe someone or something as being very goodhail somebody/something as something Lang’s first film was immediately hailed as a masterpiece.be hailed something The new service has been hailed a success. A young man is being hailed a hero tonight after rescuing two children.2 [transitive]HELLO to call to someone in order to greet them or try to attract their attention She leaned out of the window and hailed a passerby.hail a cab/taxi The hotel doorman will hail a cab for you.3 → it hails → hail from something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hail• She raised her hand to hail a cab but the Paris traffic was zooming by at its usual break-neck pace.• Rachel left the office and ran out on to Des Voeux, hailing a taxi to take her home.• Two decades later, it was home to more than 100 boys and was hailed as a model facility for troubled youth.• Induction cooking has been hailed by many as the cooking revolution.• The 2-hour meeting was hailed by some as the beginning of the end of the crisis.• Only these taxis should be hailed in the streets.• Some would prefer to be hailing New Jersey Sen.hail a cab/taxi• At the third attempt I gave up and hailed a taxi.• He wanted it all to go smoothly right down to hailing a taxi.• He hailed a cab and went to the Montrose.• She raised her hand to hail a cab but the Paris traffic was zooming by at its usual break-neck pace.• CabCharge customers can phone or hail cabs displaying a distinctive blue decal.• McCready waited ten minutes, strolled to the cab rank on Tunistrasse and hailed a cab for Bonn.• Converse walked the several blocks to Pasteur Street and hailed a taxi, taking care not to signal with the Offending Gesture.• Rachel left the office and ran out on to Des Voeux, hailing a taxi to take her home.hailhail2 noun 1 [uncountable]DN frozen raindrops which fall as hard balls of ice heavy showers of rain and hail► see thesaurus at rain2 → a hail of bullets/stones etc3 → a hail of criticism/abuse etcExamples from the Corpus
hail• Hail the size of golf balls fell in Andrews, Texas.• He advanced again, but was driven back by a hail of blows.• She ran him off in a hail of pellets.• Houses collapse, hail shatters windshields, lightning fries golfers.• She conducted me from the hail.• A distant cousin had once ended up in the hail.Origin hail1 Old English hagal, hægl hail2 1. (1200-1300) HAIL32. Old English hagalian, from hagal; → HAIL1 