skirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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to play the bagpipe.
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Scot. and North England. to shriek.
noun
-
the sound of a bagpipe.
-
Scot. and North England. any shrill sound.
verb
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dialect (esp of bagpipes) to emit a shrill sound
-
to play the bagpipes
noun
-
the sound of bagpipes
-
a shrill sound
Etymology
Origin of skirl
1350–1400; Middle English scirlen, skrillen (v.), perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian skrella boom, crash
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.
Belief swirled like the skirl of the bagpipes.
From BBC
Bringing Scotland to the Pacific Northwest for over 75 years through the skirl o’ the Pipes and Drums, the beauty of Highland Dancing, the brawn of Scottish athletics, and the sharing of clan history!
From Seattle Times
Thousands of Scotland fans are in London ahead of their Euro 2020 match with England - but the skirl of the bagpipes has largely been drowned out by a 1970s disco classic.
From BBC
"It had all the strange, wild, emotional force of the skirl of a bagpipe," wrote Herbert Warren Wind.
From Golf Digest
Boats sounded their horns across Bristol harbour, while in Oban the high school pipe band added their skirl to the vote of thanks.
From The Guardian
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.
