1 [+person, bird] cantar "what do you do for a living?" — "I sing" —¿a qué te dedicas? —canto or —soy cantante
He played the organ and sang in the choir She started singing with the band last year Madonna sang about being a 'Material Girl' The minstrel sang of the Wooden Horse, the siege of Troy and its grievous outcome to sing [flat]/[sharp] to sing [out of tune]
to sing to/for sb cantar a algn
my mother used to sing to me when I was a child we have sung for audiences around the world they sang for the royal family
to sing to o.s. cantar solo
as she worked she sang to herself The creature was singing to herself, oblivious of her surroundings
they sang to the accompaniment of the piano cantaban acompañados del piano
to sing for one's supper Salter felt honoured and tried to sing for his supper by making conversation very well, you'll have to sing for your supper though Everyone who came on the air that night had to do a turn, so I told him he had to sing for his supper
2 [+wind, kettle] silbar; [+ears] zumbar the sound of crickets singing in the fields We still do not know why whales sing The wind sang in the rigging of the boat A kettle was singing on the hob A bullet sang past the top of his head
3 (US) (act as informer) cantar (informal); (confess) confesar they arrested a man on suspicion of theft and he sang straight away
