Word.ws English Dictionary

purred

UK/pɜːd/US/pɜɹd/

purred is the simple past and past participle of purr.

Meaning of purr

Verb

purr (third-person singular simple present purrs, present participle purring, simple past and past participle purred)

  1. (intransitive) To make a vibrating sound in its throat when contented or in certain other conditions.
    • There was no one at home but a black cat, who was sitting quite content and purring on the hearth[.]1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 278
  2. (transitive) To say (something) in a throaty, seductive manner.
    • "This is Cindy," she purred again, flashing a smile of perfect white teeth surrounded by full red lips.2008, C. E. Osborne, Black Gold Death in the Sun, page 12
  3. (intransitive) To make a vibrating throaty sound, as from pleasure.
    • He purred like a kitten when she massaged his neck.
  4. (intransitive) To spend time enjoying and expressing pleasure (over something); to coo; to enthuse.
    • No woman receiving her first mink would ever put it directly into storage. She would try it on and purr over it.1971, Donald J. Sobol, More Two-Minute Mysteries, page 36
  5. (intransitive) To make a low and consistent rumbling sound.
    • Beverly passed the city limits sign with the Porsche's motor purring contentedly after its two hundred and fifty-mile romp.2001, E. C. Craver, Last Reunion, page 159

See all 9 meanings of purr

Words that rhyme with purred

35 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about purred

What is purred the simple past and past participle of?
Purred is the simple past and past participle of purr.
How do you pronounce purred?
Purred is pronounced /pɜːd/ (UK).

Words near purred in the dictionary

  1. purr word
  2. purr words
  3. purr-fect
  4. purranormal
  5. purre
  6. purred
  7. purree
  8. purrees
  9. purreic acid
  10. purrel
  11. purrell

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: purred (page history and authors); purr (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “purred.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/purred. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.