whir
verb (used without object)
to go, fly, revolve, or otherwise move quickly with a humming or buzzing sound.
whirr
-
a variation of
whir.
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.
On a dairy farm near Swindon, Sam Woolford presses a switch on the wall of the milking parlour and 10 industrial-scale fans whirr into life.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Zhang occasionally tosses in a distant whirr like the kind you hear in sci-fi films denoting an approaching UFO.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2024
At an unfinished Country Garden residential complex on the outskirts of the northern Chinese metropolis of Tianjin, construction has slowed to a dull whirr and a few idle workers roam a near-empty site.
From Reuters ● Aug. 23, 2023
For years after she arrived in Sweden as a refugee in 1992, the whirr of helicopters made her instinctively want to run for cover.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
I set out to visit the clank and whirr and hiss of the factory.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
