chirp

[ churp ]

/ tʃɜrp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chirp ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to make a characteristic short, sharp sound, as small birds and certain insects.

to make any similar sound: The children chirped with amusement.

verb (used with object)

to sound or utter in a chirping manner: The little girl chirped her joy.

noun

a chirping sound.

Nearby words

chiropractic medicine, chiropractor, chiropter, chiropteran, chirospasm, chirp, chirpy, chirr, chirren, chirrup, chirrupy

Origin of chirp

1400–50; late Middle English chyrpynge (gerund); expressive word akin to cheep, chirk, etc.

Related forms

chirp·er, nounchirp·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chirp

In a back room, video poker machines ding and chirp with the occasional squeal of delight from a winner.
Italy’s Billion-Dollar Gambling Epidemic|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On my imitating their chirp one fluttered down, and attempted to alight on my horse's ears.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia|Thomas Mitchell
She looked up into the vine that grew on the side of the house, and called, "Chirp, Chirp!"
The Nursery, March 1878, Vol. XXIII. No. 3|Various
A chaffinch actually did chirp in response from a mountain ash near.
A Desperate Character and Other Stories|Ivan Turgenev

After that, save for the chirp of some small bird and the faint sound of a dashing stream, all was silent.
Sign of the Green Arrow|Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell
We are like birds that sit upon the edge of the nest, and flutter, and chirp, and dread to fly away.
Rosemary and Rue|Amber

British Dictionary definitions for chirp (1 of 2)

chirp

/ (tʃɜːp) /

verb (intr)

(esp of some birds and insects) to make a short high-pitched sound

to speak in a lively fashion

noun

a chirping sound, esp that made by a bird

Derived Forms

chirper, noun

Word Origin for chirp

C15 (as chirpinge, gerund): of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for chirp (2 of 2)

CHIRP

/ (tʃɜːp) /

n acronym for

Confidential Human Incidents Reporting Programme: a system, run by the RAF Institute of Medicine, by which commercial pilots can comment on safety trends without the knowledge of their employers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012