warble
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to sing or whistle with trills, quavers, or melodic embellishments.
The canary warbled most of the day.
-
to yodel.
-
(of electronic equipment) to produce a continuous sound varying regularly in pitch and frequency.
verb (used with object)
-
to sing (an aria or other selection) with trills, quavers, or melodious turns.
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to express or celebrate in or as if in song; carol.
noun
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a warbled song or succession of melodic trills, quavers, etc.
-
the act of warbling.
noun
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a small, hard tumor on a horse's back, produced by the galling of the saddle.
-
a lump in the skin of an animal's back, containing the larva of a warble fly.
verb
-
to sing (words, songs, etc) with trills, runs, and other embellishments
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(tr) to utter in a song
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another word for yodel
noun
noun
-
a small lumpy abscess under the skin of cattle caused by infestation with larvae of the warble fly
-
a hard tumorous lump of tissue on a horse's back, caused by prolonged friction of a saddle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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warblesimple
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warblessimple
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have warbledperfect
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has warbledperfect
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am warblingprogressive
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are warblingprogressive
-
is warblingprogressive
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have been warblingperfect progressive
-
has been warblingperfect progressive
Past
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warbledsimple
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had warbledperfect
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was warblingprogressive
-
were warblingprogressive
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had been warblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of warble1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun werble, warble “a tune,” from Old North French, from Germanic; compare Old High German werbel “something that turns”
Origin of warble2
First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain; compare Middle Swedish varbulde “boil”
Explanation
To warble is to sing in an uneven, quavering voice. You won't win any singing contests if you warble the songs. Think of the class of song birds known as warblers. They have great songs, but they don't sound quite human. They trill, whistle, vibrate and constantly change pitch. That's a warble. Done well, a human warble can be as engaging as it is difficult. But an old lady with unsteady lungs and vocal chords may also warble, and it is neither deliberate nor very pleasing to the ears.
Vocabulary lists containing warble
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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.
See Examples For:
We stood up to warble Mexico’s national anthem and continued to cheer, even as Mexico went down 2-0.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
"None of you should be here," Harry said with an audible warble to his voice.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
Then comes that "no no no no please don't" passage, when Barrymore's voice shudders with a tender warble.
From Salon ● May 1, 2024
A passing gravitational wave generally stretches one arm more than the other, causing light to warble out of the device in sync with the wave.
From Science Magazine ● May 16, 2023
They had lost the ability to enunciate words but could still mimic a range of human vocal sounds, from a child's high-pitched warble to a man's deep tones.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Sister Megan warbles softly at first, before putting the full might of her lungs and vocal cords behind the melody and lyrics.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024
“Today we recognize the men who’ve hacked the system,” says the narrator as a background singer warbles “hacked the system.”
From Washington Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Joni Mitchell’s classic tune in which she warbles, “California, I’m coming home.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Through the commotion, Trippie commands attention with his vocals, vacillating between cartoonish warbles and metal screams in the blink of an eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
It was not a call; it was a true birdsong, with trills and warbles.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
To date, we’ve placed one order on Amazon: an irregularly oriented clothing-rod system that fits my old, warbled closet.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025
On Thursday night, after 11 p.m., as lights warbled on the dark port water, police with masks loaded the accused onto vehicles and drove them to jail.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
RAYYAN, Qatar — Three different reporters got the microphone at various times and said they didn’t really have any questions, then warbled on with thanks and praise and pretty much euphoria.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022
Alarms for the new quake came less than an hour after a quake alarms warbled in a nationwide earthquake simulation marking major quakes that struck on the same date in 1985 and 2017.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2022
High in one of the apple trees a bluebird warbled his full spring song, cheera, weera, wee-it, cheerily-cheerily.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
The frontman seems to somehow anchor the rhythmic chaos, warbling words that swerve wildly between incisiveness and irreverence; wisdom and wonderful nonsense.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
The warbling never improved, but it was heartening to see someone get over their paralyzing self-consciousness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
Like a trio of canaries in a coal mine warbling at the top of their lungs, three recent studies warn of various ways that global warming is drastically changing the planet.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2024
A few seconds and a dance break later, she’s warbling along to “Closer to Fine.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
She starts to strum it as Robert hoists himself inside, and the truck starts forward, carrying the banjo sounds and her warbling voice away from us.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
