skirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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to play the bagpipe.
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Scot. and North England. to shriek.
noun
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the sound of a bagpipe.
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Scot. and North England. any shrill sound.
verb
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dialect (esp of bagpipes) to emit a shrill sound
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to play the bagpipes
noun
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the sound of bagpipes
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a shrill sound
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has skirledperfect 3rd person singular
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have skirledperfect
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have been skirlingperfect progressive
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has been skirlingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is skirlingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are skirlingprogressive
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skirlingparticiple
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skirlssingular 3rd person
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am skirlingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had skirledperfect
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were skirlingprogressive plural
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skirledsimple
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had been skirlingperfect progressive
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was skirlingprogressive singular
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skirledparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of skirl
1350–1400; Middle English scirlen, skrillen (v.), perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian skrella boom, crash
Vocabulary lists containing skirl
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 • Nov. 8, 2025
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 • Apr. 26, 2024
"It had all the strange, wild, emotional force of the skirl of a bagpipe," wrote Herbert Warren Wind.
From Golf Digest • Apr. 13, 2020
It is often referred to as a skirl.
From Washington Times • Jan. 31, 2017
Voices would skirl up in the darkness: one person singing a lullaby, then another person, until everyone was asleep.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
