whir
Americanverb (used without object)
-
whirs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whirred,
past participle, past
-
whirring
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
whirs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whirred,
past participle, past
-
whirring
present participle
noun
noun
-
a prolonged soft swish or buzz, as of a motor working or wings flapping
-
a bustle or rush
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whirsimple
-
whirssimple
-
have whirredperfect
-
has whirredperfect
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am whirringprogressive
-
are whirringprogressive
-
is whirringprogressive
-
have been whirringperfect progressive
-
has been whirringperfect progressive
Past
-
whirredsimple
-
had whirredperfect
-
was whirringprogressive
-
were whirringprogressive
-
had been whirringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whir
1350–1400; Middle English quirre ( Scots ) < Scandinavian; compare Danish hvirre, Norwegian kvirra. See whirl
Explanation
The softly vibrating sound of something moving fast is a whir. The whir of a hummingbird's wings up close sounds a lot like a buzzing insect. Whir is one of those words like buzz, clink, and oink that sound exactly like what they mean; this effect is called onomatopoeia. You can use this one as a noun or a verb, so while your ceiling fan whirs overhead on a hot day, the whir of insects reminds you to close the window screen.
Vocabulary lists containing whir
Lawn Boy
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Shut Up, This Is Serious
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When the World Turned Upside Down
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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:
As propellers whir during warm-up, one drone’s camera shakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
"I have to import from overseas," 23-year-old Dinh, who only gave one name, explained over the whir of heavy machinery.
From Barron's ● Dec. 16, 2025
Left in the darkened closet, Starr testified she heard the whir of an electric drill as the intruder boarded up the doors with sheets of plywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
A whir of arms, a flick of his wrist, and the ball has hit you before you know it.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025
As he continued to climb, Kyle could hear the soft whir of the electromagnets invisibly lifting him toward the ceiling.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
Machinery whirs loudly as a rare-earth mixture is bathed in hydrochloric acid and gradually separated into pure oxides that can be shipped to customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Next, Doc’s Rube Goldberg-ian breakfast contraption whirs to action with burned toast and a glop of overflowing dog food, implying that he and his dog Einstein have themselves been missing for a while.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
The plane’s propeller whirs, and Snoopy’s head swings around, up and down, scanning for any sign of his German foe.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2023
A few miles away, in a building at Stockley Park west of London, the Premier League’s Video Assistant Referee studio whirs into action.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
A fluttering like a steady motor whirs in her breast.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
There was no window or outlet for the heat to escape, a small ceiling fan whirred overhead recycling hot air.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
The siblings’ all-day play in the backyard took on a spinning, rapturous dimension from the swarms of insects that whirred around and above them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Pasta sauces found richness from cannellini beans or chickpeas, whirred until smooth.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2026
The whacker whirred, manicuring a blanket of short-cropped grass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
My crush on Matt grew until I could not take the pressure that whirred inside me every time I saw him in algebra.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Visually, the entire set was stunning, with fast cuts of Nancy Whang pounding on her keyboard, Al Doyle whirring his synthesizer, and Murphy shouting into his microphone, wrapped around his arm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Or, finding yourself wide awake at 3am, brain whirring and no prospect of sleep.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
He said those provide enough power to keep fries frozen and fans whirring as long as they are switched out every five hours or so.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Rising equity prices have also kept the spending machine whirring when it comes to artificial-intelligence hyperscalers’ capital investments.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
Here the only sound was the whirring of machines, and the halls were mostly empty of people.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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.
