warble

[wawr-buh l]

See more synonyms for warble on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), war·bled, war·bling.

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), war·bled, war·bling.

to sing (an aria or other selection) with trills, quavers, or melodious turns.
to express or celebrate in or as if in song; carol.

noun

a warbled song or succession of melodic trills, quavers, etc.
the act of warbling.

Origin of warble

1300–50; Middle English werble a tune < Old North French < Germanic; compare Old High German werbel something that turns, equivalent to werb- (cognate with Old English hweorf- in hweorfan to turn) + -el noun suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for warbling

chirp, trill, sing, chant, carol, quaver, melody, yodel

Examples from the Web for warbling

Contemporary Examples of warbling

And Christopher Walken warbling and doing a little soft-shoe?
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life
Kevin Fallon
December 5, 2014
Then, after a long wait, a man begins to play a song on a zither-like instrument, singing an exotic, warbling tune.
Petra by Night
David Frum
January 3, 2013
It began in November when Paltrow slipped into a tiny dress and delivered a warbling performance at the CMA Awards.
Gwyneth Paltrow and the Rise of the Country Carpetbagger
Bryan Curtis
January 6, 2011
I can hear her now warbling her own rendition of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."
Dame Edna Mouths Off
Kevin Sessums
March 17, 2010

Historical Examples of warbling

Very soon I heard a low, warbling sound which seemed quite near.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
Above him all the birds were warbling their morning song up into the blue sky.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri
And whilst she was warbling the door of the salle opened and in walked Laurent.
Despair's Last Journey
David Christie Murray
The swans are warbling your name and so are half a dozen pesky Yankee Parrotts.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
It must be near to her: it was warbling there, perhaps she could grasp it with her hand.
Debts of Honor
Maurus Jkai

British Dictionary definitions for warbling

warble

verb

to sing (words, songs, etc) with trills, runs, and other embellishments
(tr) to utter in a song
US another word for yodel

noun

the act or an instance of warbling

Word Origin for warble

C14: via Old French werbler from Germanic; compare Frankish hwirbilōn (unattested), Old High German wirbil whirlwind; see whirl

warble

noun vet science

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

Derived Formswarbled, adjective

Word Origin for warble

C16: of uncertain origin

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

Word Origin and History for warbling

warble

c.1300, from Old North French werbler "to sing with trills and quavers," from Frankish *werbilon (cf. Old High German wirbil "whirlwind," German Wirbel "whirl, whirlpool, tuning peg, vertebra," Middle Dutch wervelen "to turn, whirl"); see whirl. The noun meaning "tune, melody" is recorded from c.1300. Related: Warbled; warbling.