siren
Classical Mythology. one of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing.
a seductively beautiful or charming woman, especially one who beguiles men: a siren of the silver screen.
an acoustical instrument for producing musical tones, consisting essentially of a disk pierced with holes arranged equidistantly in a circle, rotated over a jet or stream of compressed air, steam, or the like, so that the stream is alternately interrupted and allowed to pass.
an implement of this kind used as a whistle, fog signal, or warning device.
any of several aquatic, eellike salamanders of the family Sirenidae, having permanent external gills, small forelimbs, and no posterior limbs.
of or like a siren.
seductive or tempting, especially dangerously or harmfully: the siren call of adventure.
to go with the siren sounding, as a fire engine.
to allure in the manner of a siren.
Origin of siren
1Other words for siren
Other words from siren
- si·ren·like, adjective
Words Nearby siren
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use siren in a sentence
A surveillance video from a private home, broadcast by WRC-TV, shows a moped traveling near Seventh and Kennedy streets NW followed by a police vehicle with its lights and siren on.
Police video shows fatal crash as D.C. officers attempt to stop moped driver | Peter Hermann, Justin Jouvenal, Julie Zauzmer | October 30, 2020 | Washington PostThe statement said the officer was traveling westbound on East Capitol Street and approaching Southern Avenue with his emergency lights and sirens activated.
Bicyclist fatally struck in Prince George’s as D.C. officer sought murder suspect | Justin Wm. Moyer | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostHorns honking, planes making their very-final descent, sirens heckling from around the neighborhood — they come with the territory of performing outdoors in any city.
WNO pop-up opera truck delivers music to the public, but it’s not a perfect fit | Michael Andor Brodeur | October 28, 2020 | Washington PostIn fact, it would be hard to draw more attention without the help of some sirens and a bullhorn.
The 2020 Polaris Slingshot—still a conversation starter on three wheels | Jonathan M. Gitlin | October 22, 2020 | Ars TechnicaHarmon cranked up his siren and flashed the cruiser’s red and blue lights.
Maine Hires Lawyers With Criminal Records to Defend Its Poorest Residents | by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor, with data analysis by Agnel Philip | October 6, 2020 | ProPublica
The garrulous assistant to a fading screen siren in Clouds of Sils Maria.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’ | Marlow Stern | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnyway, Hurley magically built a career from it, and is still smiling and siren-ing.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress | Tim Teeman | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat song would soon morph from the jaunty clip of the light rail to the siren sounds of jazz.
As I stepped into the main building that housed Unit C, an earsplitting siren blared suddenly and a dozen strobes flashed.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane | Caitlin Dickson | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHalf an hour after I had returned to my old apartment from Jaffa, an air raid siren went off.
He came close to having convulsions when a squad car passed on the next street west, its siren wailing.
The soldier of Revolution must not be lured from the field of battle by the siren song of love.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanThat police car, roaring up from behind, siren a-scream, smashed into the tail end of their job.
The officers of the siren saw them also, and sent their boats into the harbor to aid the fugitives, if necessary.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes | VariousA little while afterwards the Canada's siren began to wail and squeal with a horrible mockery of painful cries.
The Relief of Mafeking | Filson Young
British Dictionary definitions for siren
/ (ˈsaɪərən) /
a device for emitting a loud wailing sound, esp as a warning or signal, typically consisting of a rotating perforated metal drum through which air or steam is passed under pressure
(sometimes capital) Greek myth one of several sea nymphs whose seductive singing was believed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks the nymphs inhabited
a woman considered to be dangerously alluring or seductive
(as modifier): her siren charms
any aquatic eel-like salamander of the North American family Sirenidae, having external gills, no hind limbs, and reduced forelimbs
Origin of siren
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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