whirr
/wɜː//wɝ/
whirr verb: to move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.
Verb
whirr (third-person singular simple present whirrs, present participle whirring, simple past and past participle whirred)
- To move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.
- To make a sibilant buzzing or droning sound.
- In a city where media companies and hospitals have armed guards, this accessibility is unusual. Inside, drivers sit and chat in between shifts, the overhead fan whirring and causing the dim electric light to flicker over their faces.2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian
- To cause (something) to make such a sound.
- (of a panther) To make a vibrating sound in its throat when contented, much like the domestic cat’s purr.
Noun
whirr (plural whirrs)
- A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion.
- As Jane turned from the telephone she heard the whirr of a motor. That would be the children coming home from school. The car called for them at the playground every afternoon at five.1930, Margaret Ayer Barnes, Years of Grace, Part III, Chapter III, page 305
- At that moment a flight of birds passed close overhead, and at the whirr of their wings a panic fear seized her.1978, Lawrence Durrell, “Lord Galen’s Farewell”, in Livia: Or Buried Alive […] (The Avignon Quintet; 2), London; Boston, Mass.: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 239
- A bustle of noise and excitement.
- The vibrating sound made by a panther in its throat when contented.
whirr meaning in Tamil
whirr in Tamil
- விர் என்ற ஒலியுடன் சுழல், சுற்று, செல், பற, விர் என்ற ரீங்காரம், ஒலி
Synonyms of whirr
Forms of whirr
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | whirrs |
| present participle | whirring |
| past participle | whirred |
| past | whirred |
| alternative form | whir |
| Noun | |
| plural | whirrs |
Origin of whirr
From Middle English whirren, probably from Old Norse: compare Danish hvirre, virre, Norwegian kvirre, Old Norse hvirfla (“to whirl, spread”).
Words that rhyme with whirr
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- per
- purr
- birr
- bur
- cellular
- concur
- defer
- entrepreneur
- incur
- infer
- occur
- prefer
- were
- aver
- brr
- cur
- deter
- diaperfur
- err
- fir
- myrrh
- aberr
- astir
- bestir
- chauffeur
- chur
- churr
- curmur
- deburr
- farceur
- flurr
- force majeure
- froideur
- grr
- her
- hurr
- inter
- knur
- masseur
- profer
- shirr
- voyeur
- xir
- agripreneur
- artpreneur
- auteur
- Big Sur
- bras d'honneur
Questions about whirr
- What does whirr mean?
- Whirr means to move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.
- What is whirr in Tamil?
- Whirr in Tamil is விர் என்ற ஒலியுடன் சுழல், சுற்று, செல். See Whirr meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is whirr?
- Whirr can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce whirr?
- Whirr is pronounced /wɜː/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of whirr?
- The past tense of whirr is whirred.
Words near whirr in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: whirr (page history and authors); whirr (Tamil Wiktionary) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-were.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-whirr.wav.
Cite this entry: “whirr.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/whirr. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.