whirr

«whirr» in Mova's school dictionary: To make a soft, steady buzzing sound like something… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (whirr, whirrs, whirred, whirring); noun (a whirr); US spelling whir

meaning for a pupil

1) To make a soft, steady buzzing sound like something spinning fast, such as a fan, a camera or wings. tree →

2) (noun) That sound. tree →

3) To move fast with such a sound. tree →

sense in the lessons

It is a sound word (it sounds like the noise it names). In stories, machines, fans, wheels and hummingbird wings whirr. "My mind was whirring" means thoughts were spinning fast. Phrases: "whirr into life", "the whirr of the fan".

examples

• The fan whirred softly in the hot classroom. tree →
• We heard the whirr of the hummingbird's wings. tree →
• The old computer whirred into life. tree →
• The sewing machine whirred as Nan sewed. tree →
• My mind was whirring with ideas for the story. tree →
• The drone whirred over the playing field. tree →
• "Whirr, whirr," went the wheel so quickly that the flax could not collect its thoughts. tree →

note

UK spelling: whirr (double r); US spelling: whir. Past: whirred; -ing form: whirring (double r in both spellings). Do not confuse with "whirl" (to spin round fast) or "were".

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «whirr» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.