WHIR (whirred, whirring)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: whirred    , whirring   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does whir mean? 

• WHIR (noun)
  The noun WHIR has 1 sense:

1. sound of something in rapid motion

  Familiarity information: WHIR used as a noun is very rare.

• WHIR (verb)
  The verb WHIR has 1 sense:

1. make a soft swishing sound

  Familiarity information: WHIR used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHIR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sound of something in rapid motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

birr; whir; whirr; whirring

Context example:

the whir of the propellers

Hypernyms ("whir" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Derivation:

whir (make a soft swishing sound)

• WHIR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they whir    ... he / she / it whirs   
Past simple: whirred   
Past participle: whirred   
-ing form: whirring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a soft swishing sound

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

birr; purr; whir; whirr; whiz; whizz

Context example:

the car engine purred

Hypernyms (to "whir" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence examples:

Cars whir in the streets
The streets whir with cars

Derivation:

whir; whirring (sound of something in rapid motion)

 Context examples 

He came upon a valley where rock ptarmigan rose on whirring wings from the ledges and muskegs.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The willow-wren with his army also came flying through the air with such a humming, and whirring, and swarming that every one was uneasy and afraid, and on both sides they advanced against each other.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

All this life through which the electric car whirred seemed remote and unreal, and he would have experienced little interest and less shock if the great stone steeple of the church he passed had suddenly crumbled to mortar-dust upon his head.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

And always the ptarmigan rose, whirring, before him, till their ker—ker—ker became a mock to him, and he cursed them and cried aloud at them with their own cry.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)