Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. Chiefly British Variant of whir.
Wiktionary
- v. To move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.
- v. intransitive To make a sibilant buzzing or droning sound.
- v. transitive To cause (something) to make such a sound.
- n. A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion.
- n. A bustle of noise and excitement.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make a vibrant sound, as of some birds
- v. make a soft swishing sound
- n. sound of something in rapid motion
Etymologies
- Perhaps from Old Norse hvirfla ("to whirl, spread"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I need to be able to putter and poke at things and get up and wander around and let my brain whirr on the hamster wheel rather than attempting to be disciplined and productive.”
“I can see distinctly the little stone cottages in the narrow wynds off South Street, which I was wont to visit; I can recall the whirr and rattle of the loom “ben the house,” and picture to myself the grave elderly man who on my entrance would rise from the rickety machine in front of which he was seated, and, after refreshing himself with a pinch of snuff, adjust his horn-rimmed spectacles and stare, with a seriousness which to me was somewhat disquieting, at the little English boy who had found his way into his presence.”
“I can see distinctly the little stone cottages in the narrow wynds off South Street, which I was wont to visit; I can recall the whirr and rattle of the loom "ben the house," and picture to myself the grave elderly man who on my entrance would rise from the rickety machine in front of which he was seated, and, after refreshing himself with a pinch of snuff, adjust his horn-rimmed spectacles and stare, with a seriousness which to me was somewhat disquieting, at the little English boy who had found his way into his presence.”
“Against that faint but continuous background were other intermittent noises: the occasional "whirr" of hidden motors carrying out some mysterious and auto - matic task, the "tick," every thirty seconds precisely, of the electric clock, and sometimes the sound of water racing through the pressurised plumbing system.”
“Then it struck Desmond that the line was dead: his ear detected none of that busy whirr which is heard in the telephone when one is waiting to get a number.”
“It was not unlike the "whirr" of machinery, save that it rose and fell in distinct cadences, and occasionally -- as if by preconcerted arrangement on the part of every individual insect in the district -- stopped altogether for a few moments.”
“It was not unlike the "whirr" made by a thrashing-machine -- which any one must have heard who has travelled through an agricultural district.”
“First of all was heard a distant rumbling, with the "whirr" of the iron rope far back in the darkness.”
“whirr," the sound growing fainter and fainter till it finally ceases; but if it should run down with the notched side downward, the friction of the point against the table will reduce this final whirr to half its ordinary length, and the coin will finally go down with a sort of”
“whirr" went the chains, the heavy weight sank to the ground, and the clock stopped; and the poor mother rushed out of the house calling for her child.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘whirr’.
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Onomatopoetic
words (seemingly) formed in imitation of a natural sound
plash, guff, woof, splash, crash, pow, crack, bang, whoosh, whizz, whallop, fizz and 116 more...
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'no matter' matters
only the essence counts!
no matter
only matter
How mattering? (maddening?)
It is of no mind! (no mind)essentic, teleologing, resonance, sonorous, fire opal, Kagerou, maravilla, Otaniemi, whirr, chirr, yarn, trundle and 30 more...
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Dewitful
visions of witfulness and vision - a wise guise
revision, advisor, ideal, witty, witness, veda, druid, penguin, hadal, idea, story, history and 269 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, W
washboard, winterbourne, winze, wirble, waterway, windrow, winceyette, waft, whiffletree, wheelbarrow, whicker, wacky and 170 more...
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My pretties...
What did i *just* say?
whirr, diaphanous, susurration, carousel, falconry, jug, cacophony, spanish moss, lurid, flotsam and jetsam, ribbon, lambent and 27 more...
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sound words
words that indicate sounds
sough, susurration, murmur, burble, gurgle, tintinnabulation, tinkle, rumble, rustle, whir, hum, buzz and 21 more...
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camgurl's Words
discombobulated, anti-macassar, amok, bifurcate, dado, gorgon, substrate, matrix, succulent, surreptitious, hijinks, foolhardy and 38 more...
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nsanch's words
whirr, englightenment, vocabularious, sophistry, scriven, magniloquent, muppet, kickingest-ass, leverage, autoclave, hooligan, moppet and 5 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for whirr.

rolig It went "zip" when it moved and "bop" when it stopped
And "whirr" when it stood still –
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.
– Tom Paxton, "The Marvelous Toy" Dec 12, 2007
rolig also whir. Dec 12, 2007