purr
Americanverb (used without object)
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purrs,
present (3rd person singular)
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purred,
past participle, past
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purring
present participle
-
to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.
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(of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat.
The new motor of the car purred.
verb (used with object)
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purrs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
purred,
past participle, past
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purring
present participle
noun
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purrs
plural
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the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.
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a sound resembling this.
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the act of purring.
verb
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(intr) (esp of cats) to make a low vibrant sound, usually considered as expressing pleasure, etc
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(tr) to express (pleasure, etc) by this sound
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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purrsimple
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purrssimple
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have purredperfect
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has purredperfect
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am purringprogressive
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are purringprogressive
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is purringprogressive
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have been purringperfect progressive
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has been purringperfect progressive
Past
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purredsimple
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had purredperfect
-
was purringprogressive
-
were purringprogressive
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had been purringperfect progressive
Future
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There is the intermittent purr of generators, dogs barking, and, from time to time, the dry clack of domino tiles echoing in the street.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
I told them I got mine hours ago and the group emitted a collective purr.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
They handled Australia next as the engine began to purr.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
That voice is all purr and growl, like a lion clawing its way through velvet.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
The dragons look harmless, and they purr happily as they eat the crumbs Kavita is sharing with them.
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
Instead, as a vehicle for a pair of wonderful performances, “Pillion” purrs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
"Tee off on a trail of history," the club history purrs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
A portable heater purrs with a bright orange glow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2024
A healthy coral reef is noisy, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
The radio purrs and the woman laughs and Herr Siedler looks almost nothing, Werner decides, like his neighbors, their guarded, anxious faces—faces of people accustomed to watching loved ones disappear every morning into pits.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
In the morning, as we ate vegan doughnuts and watched cat cartoons, kitten Asher plopped onto my lap and purred loudly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"You do not have to do any strain to the voice. He is great," Trump purred.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Slegers made five changes from the team that beat Lyon in their Champions League semi-final first-leg tie and the replacements purred.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
“You’ve had nine hits this year,” she purred fawningly at the singer-songwriter Michael Bolton on one of her British TV shows.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2023
He purred with Gray under his silver mother’s rough tongue, tasted her warm milk, felt the weight of her chin resting over his newborn skull.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Fellow volunteer Aurelie Zucchello, from a local cat charity, stroked a purring ginger feline.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, 99 performers led by artist Gary Baseman and dressed as black cats will create a purring “sound bath” as they stroll down the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Early in his TV career, his purring voice and enchanting grin helped transform a string of coffee commercials into a serialized love story.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
As a panderer, one artfully strokes purring sympathizers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Silas woke me the next day by purring next to my head.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
