Whistle Meaning
/ˈwɪs(ə)l/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA device designed to be placed in the mouth and blown, or driven by steam or some other mechanism, to make a whistling sound.
nounAn act of whistling.
Sentence Examples
A whistle blew, and the boat slowly began to pull out of port.
We were roused at daybreak by the whistle of a train.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The loud high-pitched sound made by blowing air through pursed lips is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard the sudden sound of a ____ earlier this morning, which indicated that the train was about to leave the station today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English whistel, whistil, whistle, from Old English hwistle, from the verb (see below).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A lovely crisp exhaust: a feeling of almost unlimited power combined with complete freedom of running: and, to crown it all, a most melodious and wholly American chime whistle—these were my immediate impressions as we stormed rapidly out of Göttingen, intent on winning back some of the lost time."
— 1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 611:
"One thing I took great care to observe was obedience to the "whistle" boards which crop up with great frequency, for failure to sound the whistle, if observed by the gendarmerie, can bring about serious consequences."
— 1961 March, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 151:
"[...] and Temple station, which had to have a very modestly proportioned station building on the insistence of the Duke of Norfolk who owned the land on which it was built, and where the trains under the glass roof of the station were not allowed to blow their whistles, at the insistence of the barristers in the nearby Inns of Court."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, pages 61–62:
"We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine.[…]As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"We soldiers changed into our No.1 dress uniforms, Sid into his best whistle and we set off for the church."
— 2005, Wally Payne, A Minority of One: A Monkey's Tale Continued:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The loud high-pitched sound made by blowing air through pursed lips is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard the sudden sound of a ____ earlier this morning, which indicated that the train was about to leave the station today.