EN

Synonyms for whir

  • noun
  • verb
  • American English

Most common

buzz drone hum whine hustle bustle

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Hum — A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion

hum, buzz, whine, drone, whistle, wiz, whiz US, whizz UK

2. Bustle — A bustle of noise and excitement

bustle, hustle

Verb

1. Purr

purr, birr

Other

chirr

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion.

  2. n. 2

    A bustle of noise and excitement.

  3. v. 1

    To move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.

Related words

Other spellings
whirr UK

Forms

Plural
whirs → hums, buzzes, whines, drones…
Past participle
whirred
e.g. whirred → purred, birred, chirred…

Example sentences

  • buzz Give me a buzz if you feel like going out tonight.
  • drone I want to buy a drone, but my parents won't let me.
  • hum I've had enough of the rain and the daily hum-drum.
  • whine What possessed you to whine about "Jewish power" to me?
  • hustle You have to hustle if you want to get on in the world.
  • bustle Yanni loved the hustle and bustle of Algiers.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
whirrising
buzzrising
dronerising
humrising
whinerising
hustlerising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
hum1, wiz1
4 letters
buzz1, whiz1, purr1, birr1
5 letters
drone1, whine1, whizz, chirr
6 letters
hustle2, bustle2
7 letters
whistle2

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (hustle2 = 2 syllables).