whirr


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whirr

 (wûr, hwûr)
v. & n. Chiefly British
Variant of whir.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whirr


Past participle: whirred
Gerund: whirring

Imperative
whirr
whirr
Present
I whirr
you whirr
he/she/it whirrs
we whirr
you whirr
they whirr
Preterite
I whirred
you whirred
he/she/it whirred
we whirred
you whirred
they whirred
Present Continuous
I am whirring
you are whirring
he/she/it is whirring
we are whirring
you are whirring
they are whirring
Present Perfect
I have whirred
you have whirred
he/she/it has whirred
we have whirred
you have whirred
they have whirred
Past Continuous
I was whirring
you were whirring
he/she/it was whirring
we were whirring
you were whirring
they were whirring
Past Perfect
I had whirred
you had whirred
he/she/it had whirred
we had whirred
you had whirred
they had whirred
Future
I will whirr
you will whirr
he/she/it will whirr
we will whirr
you will whirr
they will whirr
Future Perfect
I will have whirred
you will have whirred
he/she/it will have whirred
we will have whirred
you will have whirred
they will have whirred
Future Continuous
I will be whirring
you will be whirring
he/she/it will be whirring
we will be whirring
you will be whirring
they will be whirring
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been whirring
you have been whirring
he/she/it has been whirring
we have been whirring
you have been whirring
they have been whirring
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been whirring
you will have been whirring
he/she/it will have been whirring
we will have been whirring
you will have been whirring
they will have been whirring
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been whirring
you had been whirring
he/she/it had been whirring
we had been whirring
you had been whirring
they had been whirring
Conditional
I would whirr
you would whirr
he/she/it would whirr
we would whirr
you would whirr
they would whirr
Past Conditional
I would have whirred
you would have whirred
he/she/it would have whirred
we would have whirred
you would have whirred
they would have whirred
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.whirr - sound of something in rapid motion; "whir of a bird's wings"; "the whir of the propellers"
sound - the sudden occurrence of an audible event; "the sound awakened them"
Verb1.whirr - make a soft swishing sound; "the motor whirred"; "the car engine purred"
sound, go - make a certain noise or sound; "She went `Mmmmm'"; "The gun went `bang'"
2.whirr - make a vibrant sound, as of some birds
let loose, let out, utter, emit - express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words); "She let out a big heavy sigh"; "He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

whirr

[wɜːʳ]
A. N [of insect wings] → zumbido m; [of machine] (quiet) → zumbido m, runrún m; (louder) → rechino m
B. VI [insect wings] → zumbar; [machine] (quietly) → zumbar, runrunear; (more loudly) → rechinar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

whirr

hwɜːr] vi [machine] → vrombirUn hélicoptère vrombissait au-dessus de nos têtes.; [insect's wing] → vrombir
The camera whirred and clicked → La caméra ronronnait et cliquetait.
the whirring sound of the film projector
BUT le ronronnement du projecteur de film.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

whirr

, whir
n (of wings)Schwirren nt; (of wheels, camera, machine, quiet) → Surren nt; (louder) → Brummen nt, → Dröhnen nt
vi (wings)schwirren; (wheels, camera, machine, quietly) → surren; (louder) → brummen, dröhnen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

whirr

whir [wɜːʳ]
1. n (of insect wings, machine) → ronzio
2. vironzare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Even from where they sat they could hear the faint whirr of a dynamo.
At the signal, a loud whirr of wings in quick flight was heard and a large Falcon came and settled itself on the window ledge.
Verily, in those have I mine amusement: wherever I find such clocks I shall wind them up with my mockery, and they shall even whirr thereby!
No, they came in a body, they came with a whirr and a rush, they came like a volley from a battery; came with heads low down, plumes streaming out behind, lances advanced at a level.
The rocks of the Spy-glass re-echoed it a score of times; the whole troop of marsh-birds rose again, darkening heaven, with a simultaneous whirr; and long after that death yell was still ringing in my brain, silence had re- established its empire, and only the rustle of the redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges disturbed the languor of the afternoon.
Wheels creak on their axles as the cogs engage one another and the revolving pulleys whirr with the rapidity of their movement, but a neighboring wheel is as quiet and motionless as though it were prepared to remain so for a hundred years; but the moment comes when the lever catches it and obeying the impulse that wheel begins to creak and joins in the common motion the result and aim of which are beyond its ken.
The measured motion of their shadows on the walls, was the substitute Coketown had to show for the shadows of rustling woods; while, for the summer hum of insects, it could offer, all the year round, from the dawn of Monday to the night of Saturday, the whirr of shafts and wheels.
And very faint now, but very distinct through the hot, quiet air, one heard the whirr of a machine-gun that was presently stilled, and an intermittent cracking of rifles.
But early as he woke on the next morning--and although there was an excuse for not prolonging sleep in the constant whirr and rattle of the "donkey" engine winches of the great ship--he met the eyes of Adam fixed on him from his berth.
But there are other tunes in England besides that the arrow sings." Here he whirred the staff about his head by way of practice.
With a word of farewell he touched the button which controlled the repulsive rays, and as the flier rose lightly into the air, the engine purred in answer to the touch of his finger upon a second button, the propellers whirred as his hand drew back the speed lever, and Carthoris, Prince of Helium, was off into the gorgeous Martian night beneath the hurtling moons and the million stars.
The quick glance which had swept the ground for some weapon of defense discovered it, and as the lion reared upon his hind legs to seize the rash man-thing who had dared interpose its puny strength between Numa and his prey, the heavy stock whirred through the air and splintered upon the broad forehead.