trill

[ tril ]

See synonyms for: trill trilled on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to sing or play with a vibratory or quavering effect.
Phonetics. to produce (a sound) with a trill.

(of birds, insects, etc.) to sing or utter in a succession of rapidly alternating sounds.

verb (used without object)

to resound vibrantly, or with a rapid succession of sounds, as the voice, song, or laughter.
to utter or make a sound or succession of sounds resembling such singing, as a bird, frog, grasshopper, or person laughing.

to execute a shake or trill with the voice or on a musical instrument.
Phonetics. to execute a trill, especially with the tongue, as while singing, talking, or whistling.

noun

the act or sound of trilling.
Music. a rapid alternation of two adjacent tones; a shake.

a similar sound, or succession of sounds, uttered or made by a bird, an insect, a person laughing, etc.
Phonetics.
- a sequence of repetitive, rapid, vibratory movements produced in any free articulator or membrane by a rush of air expelled from the lungs and often causing a corresponding sequence of contacts between the vibrating articulator and another organ or surface.
- a speech sound produced by such a trill.

Origin of trill

First recorded in 1640–50; from Italian trillo, triglio “quaver or warble in singing,” ultimately from Germanic; compare Dutch trillen “to vibrate,” late Middle English trillen “to shake or rock (something)”

Other words for trill

4	quaver, tremble, vibrate
5	cheep, chirp, chirrup, peep, sing, tweet, twitter, warble
10	birdsong, call, cheep, chirp, chirr, chirrup, peep, pipe, song, tweet, twitter

See synonyms for trill on Thesaurus.com

Words Nearby trill

Other definitions for trill (2 of 2)

trill²

[ tril ]

verb (used without object)

to flow in a thin stream; trickle.

verb (used with object)

to cause to flow in a thin stream.

Origin of trill

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English trillen “to make (something) turn, to roll, flow (said of tears, water),” from Old Danish trijlæ “to roll” (said, e.g., of tears and of a wheelbarrow); compare Norwegian trille , Swedish trilla; see trill¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trill in a sentence

The high trill of ice tinkling and falling from Fraser firs serenaded me as I tramped my boots along the soggy forest floor.
Yes, You Can Avoid the Crowds at (the Very Popular) Great Smoky Mountain National Park | tzemke | August 2, 2022 | Outside Online
A symphony of mobile phone notifications trilled across Hong Kong on Saturday as residents received text messages reminding them to vote in the legislative election.
Most Hong Kongers Stay Home for First Election After Beijing's New Rules | Amy Gunia | December 20, 2021 | Time
Part of the song is a trill and part of it is more of an oo sound, though the particulars can vary.
How to speak city pigeon | Rosemary Mosco | October 26, 2021 | Popular-Science
I speak to him in Korean, and I interpret his trills as Korean responses.
How ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’ makes sense of stories about Vikings, pirates and George Washington | Gene Park | January 1, 2021 | Washington Post
The collection included t-shirts featuring street wear brand Been trill, jeans, and hoodies.
A.P.C. Releases Kanye West Collection; Max Azria Faces Insurmountable Debt | The Fashion Beast Team | July 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Even assuming full extension of Bush tax cuts, which add their own $5 trillion or so to the deficit, Romney adds another $3 trill.
Romney's Revealing (semi-Keynesian) Slip | Michael Tomasky | May 25, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
If it passed the inspection, he would nod contentedly, trill out a gay refrain, and replace it on the easel for further study.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
A trill, or rapid reiteration of two notes comprehending an interval not greater than one whole tone, nor less than a semitone.
Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion, 1773-1774. | Philip Vickers Fithian
Then from somewhere above him came such a trill of demoniacal laughter as chilled his blood.
The Daffodil Mystery | Edgar Wallace
My comrade sings in such a way that I am sure the nightingales outside will cease to trill from pure envy.
The Court Jester | Cornelia Baker
Some singers have this gift; Mme. Melba is one who never had to study a trill, for she was born with a nightingale in her throat.
Piano Mastery | Harriette Brower

British Dictionary definitions for trill (1 of 2)

trill¹

/ (trɪl) /

noun

music a melodic ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between a principal note and the note a whole tone or semitone above it: Usual symbol: (written above a note) tr., tr
a shrill warbling sound, esp as made by some birds

phonetics
- the articulation of an (r) sound produced by holding the tip of the tongue close to the alveolar ridge, allowing the tongue to make a succession of taps against the ridge
- the production of a similar effect using the uvula against the back of the tongue

verb

to sound, sing, or play (a trill or with a trill)
(tr) to pronounce (an (r) sound) by the production of a trill

Origin of trill

C17: from Italian trillo, from trillare, apparently from Middle Dutch trillen to vibrate

British Dictionary definitions for trill (2 of 2)

trill²

/ (trɪl) /

verb, noun

an archaic or poetic word for trickle

Origin of trill

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Norwegian trilla to roll; see trill 1

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

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