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

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

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.

I heard the death-moth tick and stir, Slow-honeycombing through the bark; I heard the cricket's drowsy chirr, And one lone beetle burr the dark— The sleeping woodland seemed to purr.

From Poems by Cawein, Madison Julius

And so I reach, Dear Lord, to Thee, And do beseech Thou givest me The wee cot, and the cricket's chirr, Love, and the glad sweet face of her.

From Riley Love-Lyrics by Vawter, Will

Related Words

• groan
• screech
• squeak