Meaning

3 senses

  1. A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion.

    sound of something in rapid motion

  2. A bustle of noise and excitement.

  3. The vibrating sound made by a panther in its throat when contented.

Examples

4 sentences

  1. The fan is making a whirring sound.

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  2. My computer's fan started spinning with a soft whirr.

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  3. The airplane's engines whirred.

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  4. The cogs are whirring loudly.

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Translations

1 languages

Origin

From Middle English whirren, probably from Old Norse: compare Danish hvirre, virre, Norweg

From Middle English whirren, probably from Old Norse: compare Danish hvirre, virre, Norwegian kvirre, Old Norse hvirfla (“to whirl, spread”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: whirrs
Singularwhirr
Pluralwhirrs

regular

Synonyms

12 synonyms
sibilant buzz or vibration:buzzB2whistleB1dronehumpurrwhinewhizz
bustle of noise and excitement:bustleB2hustle
Close in meaning

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
whirlpoolwhirlwindC2whiskwhiskerwhiskeyB2
whirr — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto