Adjacent Words

Whir definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WHIR, v.i. hwur. To whirl round with noise; to fly with noise.
WHIR, v.t. To hurry.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: sound of something in rapid motion; "whir of a bird's wings"; "the whir of the propellers" [syn: whir, whirr, whirring, birr] v
1: make a soft swishing sound; "the motor whirred"; "the car engine purred" [syn: whizz, whiz, whirr, whir, birr, purr]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb also whirr (whirred; whirring) Etymology: Middle English (Scots) quirren, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish hvirre to whirl, whir Date: 15th century intransitive verb to fly, revolve, or move rapidly with a whir <hummingbirds whirring past> transitive verb to move or carry rapidly with a whir II. noun also whirr Date: 1677 a continuous fluttering or vibratory sound made by something in rapid motion <the whir of machinery>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

var. of WHIRR.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Whir Whir, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whirred; p. pr. & vb. n. Whirring.] [Perhaps of imitative origin; cf. D. hvirre to whirl, and E. hurr, hurry, whirl. ???.] To whirl round, or revolve, with a whizzing noise; to fly or more quickly with a buzzing or whizzing sound; to whiz. The partridge bursts away on whirring wings. --Beattie.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Whir Whir, v. t. [See Whir to whiz.] To hurry a long with a whizzing sound. [R.] This world to me is like a lasting storm, Whirring me from my friends. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Whir Whir, n. A buzzing or whizzing sound produced by rapid or whirling motion; as, the whir of a partridge; the whir of a spinning wheel.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see whirr

Moby Thesaurus

angular momentum, angular motion, angular velocity, axial motion, birr, bombilate, bombinate, boom, bowling, bum, burr, buzz, centrifugation, circulation, circumgyration, circumrotation, drone, full circle, gyration, hum, pivoting, purr, reeling, revolution, roll, rolling, rotation, rotational motion, spin, spinning, swinging, swirling, swiveling, thrum, trolling, trundling, turbination, turning, volutation, volution, wheeling, whirling, whiz