chirr

American  

[chur] / tʃɜr /

Or chirre,

verb (used without object)

1. to make a characteristic shrill, trilling sound, as a grasshopper.

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noun

1. the sound of chirring.

chirr British  

/ tʃɜː /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of certain insects, such as crickets) to make a shrill trilled sound

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noun

1. the sound of chirring

Etymology

Origin of chirr

First recorded in 1590–1600; alteration of chirp

Example Sentences

A pensive stillness passed while they listened to the hushed chirr of insects in the trees that surrounded the cemetery like an embrace.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Their call for food was a sibilant chirr, and they gave it much oftener than any of the grown-up woodpecker notes.

From A-Birding on a Bronco by Merriam, Florence A.

Calls, a clearly piped whistle, and a peculiar chirr, often uttered when taking wing; song, short, simple, but rather sweet.

From Color Key to North American Birds with bibiographical appendix by Chapman, Frank M.

Now an uneasy head is thrust out, and now a whole tiny body, but it soon reënters in another quarter, and at length the stir and chirr grow still.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865 by Various

The air was full of a faint far chirr of night insects, like an elfin serenade, and here and there among the trees pulsed the greenish-yellow spark of a firefly.

From The Valiants of Virginia by Rives, Hallie Erminie

Related Words

• groan
• screech
• squeak