Meaning

5 senses

  1. (ambitransitive)To make a shrill, high-pitched sound by forcing air through the mouth. To produce a whistling sound, restrictions to the flow of air are created using the teeth, tongue and lips.

    Never whistle at a funeral.

    He was whistling a happy tune.

    pfeifen, flöten

    свисте́тьsvistétʹ, сви́стнутьsvístnutʹ

    свисті́тиsvystíty, сюрча́тиsjurčáty

    make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound

  2. (ambitransitive)To make a similar sound by forcing air through a musical instrument or a pipe etc.

    The steam train whistled as it passed by.

  3. (intransitive)To move in such a way as to create a whistling sound.

    A bullet whistled past.

    свисте́тьsvistétʹ, просвисте́тьprosvistétʹ

    move with, or as with, a whistling sound

  4. (transitive)To send, signal, or call by a whistle.

    give a signal by whistling

  5. (intransitive, slang)To request admission to Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic organization.

Examples

306 sentences

  1. Tom began to whistle a tune.

    Том почав насвистувати якусь мелодію. — deniko

    ruТом стал насвистывать какой-то мотив. — marafon

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. I heard someone whistle.

    Я чув, як хтось свистить. — deniko

    ruЯ услышал чей-то свист. — fjay69

    deIch hörte jemanden pfeifen. — Esperantostern

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. I know how to whistle.

    Я вмію свистіти. — deniko

    ruЯ умею свистеть. — marafon

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. Tom can't whistle.

    Том не вміє свистіти. — deniko

    ruТом не умеет свистеть. — marafon

    deTom kann nicht pfeifen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. Tom knows how to whistle.

    Том уміє свистіти. — deniko

    ruТом умеет свистеть. — marafon

    deTom weiß, wie man pfeift. — wolfgangth

    CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
to produce a whistling sound:
Русский
By meaning 2
to produce a whistling sound:
to move in such a way as to make a whistling sound:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
to produce a whistling sound:

Origin

From Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlan, hwistlian (“to whistle”), from Pr

From Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlan, hwistlian (“to whistle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwistlōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwistlōną (“to make a hissing sound”). Cognate with Swedish vissla (“to whistle”), Icelandic hvísla (“to whisper”), Russian свистеть (svistetʹ, “to whistle”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

whistles, whistling, whistled, whistled
Base formwhistle · to whistle
3rd person singularwhistles
Present participlewhistling
Past simplewhistled
Past participlewhistled

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theywhistle
he, she, itwhistles

Past simpleLesson

all personswhistled

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave whistled
he, she, ithas whistled

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill whistle

Phrasal verbs

2 phrasal verbs

Synonyms

1 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound:sing

Word family

13 related words
Relatedwhistlerwhistling
Derivedwhistleablewhistle pastwhistle upwhistling arrowwhistling buoywhistling duckwhistling harewhistling kitewhistling marmotwhistling shopwhistling swan

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
whiskerwhiskeyB2whisperB1whitwhiteA1

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

whistle — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto