purr

American  

[pur] / pɜr /

Archaic, pur

verb (used without object)

purrs, present (3rd person singular) purred, past participle, past purring present participle

1. to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.

2. (of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat.

   The new motor of the car purred.

---

verb (used with object)

purrs, present (3rd person singular) purred, past participle, past purring present participle

1. to express by or as if by purring.

noun

1. the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.

2. a sound resembling this.

3. the act of purring.

purr British  

/ pɜː /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of cats) to make a low vibrant sound, usually considered as expressing pleasure, etc

2. (tr) to express (pleasure, etc) by this sound

---

noun

1. a purring sound

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• purringly
  adverb

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has purred
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have purred
  perfect
• has been purring
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am purring
  progressive 1st person singular
• are purring
  progressive
• is purring
  progressive 3rd person singular
• purring
  participle
• have been purring
  perfect progressive
• purrs
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had purred
  perfect
• had been purring
  perfect progressive
• was purring
  progressive singular
• purred
  simple
• purred
  participle
• were purring
  progressive plural

Future

• will purr
  simple
• will have purred
  perfect
• will be purring
  progressive
• will have been purring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of purr

First recorded in 1595–1605; imitative

Explanation

The happy sound a relaxed cat makes is a purr. A purr is low and fluttery, and you can feel it vibrating in the cat's body. Your pet cat purrs, and so do some of her larger relatives, like the puma and the bobcat, as well as the cat-like animal called a genet, raccoons, badgers, tapirs, and even guinea pigs. Scientists aren't entirely sure how a cat purrs, but they do know that felines can either purr or roar, but not both (lions, for example, don't purr). They also suspect that a purr evolved as communication between mother cats and nursing kittens.

Example Sentences

"But once we examined the acoustic structure closely, the even, rhythmic purr turned out to be the better cue for identifying individual cats."

From Science Daily • Feb. 11, 2026

The glassy stare, the eyebrows tilted up like thirsty caterpillars, his purr as he lights a cigar.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025

Even the Pokémon noises are gently mellowed out in contrast to the coarser, more caterwauling sounds of the games; here the creatures purr, cry, coo and sigh like docile house pets.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2024

Scientists who subscribed to the active muscle contractions theory believed that when cats purr in response to being comfortable or, conversely, to feeling stressed, they do so as a voluntary muscle contraction.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2023

Turns out nobody knows for sure why cats purr.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate