Library / English Dictionary

WHIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: whirred    , whirring   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sound of something in rapid motion

Example:

the whir of the propellers

Synonyms:

birr; whir; whirr; whirring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

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

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Derivation:

whir (make a soft swishing sound)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a soft swishing sound

Example:

the car engine purred

Synonyms:

birr; purr; whir; whirr; whiz; whizz

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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)

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