warble
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
warbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
warbled,
past participle, past
-
warbling
present participle
-
to sing or whistle with trills, quavers, or melodic embellishments.
The canary warbled most of the day.
-
to yodel.
-
(of electronic equipment) to produce a continuous sound varying regularly in pitch and frequency.
verb (used with object)
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warbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
warbled,
past participle, past
-
warbling
present participle
-
to sing (an aria or other selection) with trills, quavers, or melodious turns.
-
to express or celebrate in or as if in song; carol.
noun
-
a warbled song or succession of melodic trills, quavers, etc.
-
the act of warbling.
noun
-
a small, hard tumor on a horse's back, produced by the galling of the saddle.
-
a lump in the skin of an animal's back, containing the larva of a warble fly.
verb
-
to sing (words, songs, etc) with trills, runs, and other embellishments
-
(tr) to utter in a song
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another word for yodel
noun
noun
-
a small lumpy abscess under the skin of cattle caused by infestation with larvae of the warble fly
-
a hard tumorous lump of tissue on a horse's back, caused by prolonged friction of a saddle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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warblesimple
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warblessimple
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have warbledperfect
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has warbledperfect
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am warblingprogressive
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are warblingprogressive
-
is warblingprogressive
-
have been warblingperfect progressive
-
has been warblingperfect progressive
Past
-
warbledsimple
-
had warbledperfect
-
was warblingprogressive
-
were warblingprogressive
-
had been warblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of warble1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun werble, warble “a tune,” from Old North French, from Germanic; compare Old High German werbel “something that turns”
Origin of warble2
First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain; compare Middle Swedish varbulde “boil”
Explanation
To warble is to sing in an uneven, quavering voice. You won't win any singing contests if you warble the songs. Think of the class of song birds known as warblers. They have great songs, but they don't sound quite human. They trill, whistle, vibrate and constantly change pitch. That's a warble. Done well, a human warble can be as engaging as it is difficult. But an old lady with unsteady lungs and vocal chords may also warble, and it is neither deliberate nor very pleasing to the ears.
Vocabulary lists containing warble
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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:
A fairly reedy warble emerged, which Goldie ignored.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025
Then comes that "no no no no please don't" passage, when Barrymore's voice shudders with a tender warble.
From Salon ● May 1, 2024
A passing gravitational wave generally stretches one arm more than the other, causing light to warble out of the device in sync with the wave.
From Science Magazine ● May 16, 2023
In a high school gymnasium, three hours from Salt Lake and seven from Las Vegas, the throaty warble of a fiddle competed with the sound of cowboy boots squeaking on wood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
Momma’s voice was full, sweet and clear, but always cut through by a sad warble.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
“Crying in a suit and tie,” she warbles, referring to her onstage look from a few years ago, then twisting the image into a joke with “But you should see the other guy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Today we recognize the men who’ve hacked the system,” says the narrator as a background singer warbles “hacked the system.”
From Washington Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Joni Mitchell’s classic tune in which she warbles, “California, I’m coming home.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Through the commotion, Trippie commands attention with his vocals, vacillating between cartoonish warbles and metal screams in the blink of an eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
“So what do a blackbird’s wails and warbles have to do with finding our way out of the library?” said Akimi.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
To date, we’ve placed one order on Amazon: an irregularly oriented clothing-rod system that fits my old, warbled closet.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025
“Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain,” a set of uncannily warped pop gems and warbled solitary hymns, had performed much like its predecessors: critically praised, commercially stillborn.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
RAYYAN, Qatar — Three different reporters got the microphone at various times and said they didn’t really have any questions, then warbled on with thanks and praise and pretty much euphoria.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022
Alarms for the new quake came less than an hour after a quake alarms warbled in a nationwide earthquake simulation marking major quakes that struck on the same date in 1985 and 2017.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2022
When the fiddles warbled and the drums thumped, he grabbed Nan and paraded her around the dance stages until she was breathless with laughter.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Just a few tracks depart from the slow tempos and warbling vocals, and their difference makes them sound more exciting than they might in isolation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The frontman seems to somehow anchor the rhythmic chaos, warbling words that swerve wildly between incisiveness and irreverence; wisdom and wonderful nonsense.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
Like a trio of canaries in a coal mine warbling at the top of their lungs, three recent studies warn of various ways that global warming is drastically changing the planet.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2024
A few seconds and a dance break later, she’s warbling along to “Closer to Fine.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
“You’re in,” she said, her voice quiet and warbling.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
