whir

American  

[hwur, wur] / ʰwɜr, wɜr /

Or whirr

verb (used without object)

whirred, whirring

1. to go, fly, revolve, or otherwise move quickly with a humming or buzzing sound.

   An electric fan whirred softly in the corner.

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verb (used with object)

whirred, whirring

1. to move or transport (a thing, person, etc.) with a whirring sound.

   The plane whirred them away into the night.

noun

1. an act or sound of whirring.

   the whir of wings.

whir British  

/ wɜː /

noun

1. a prolonged soft swish or buzz, as of a motor working or wings flapping

2. a bustle or rush

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verb

1. to make or cause to make a whir

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.

Example Sentences

Over the whine of buzzsaws and the steady whir of sanders, hundreds of Vietnamese workers in a factory outside Ho Chi Minh City hustle to fill orders for high-end furniture.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

In Boland's following over, England fell apart in a whir of loose drives.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

Overhead, the whir of drones is constant—as many as 10 Russian craft for every Ukrainian one, according to Ukrainian troops.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 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

Allen was also listening for the reassuring noises of animals: the whine of mosquitoes, the whir of crickets, the scurry of rats in the underbrush.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge