whistle

CEFRB1

/ˈwɪs(ə)l/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To make a high sound by blowing through your lips.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A shrill, high-pitched sound made by whistling.

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.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈwɪsl̩]
  • /ˈʋ(h)ɪsɪl/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. An act of whistling.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A device designed to be placed in the mouth and blown, or driven by steam or some other mechanism, to make a whistling sound.

  2. Any high-pitched sound similar to the sound made by whistling.

More examples

In context

  • the whistle of the wind in the trees

  • He was whistling a happy tune.

  • Never whistle at a funeral.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The loud high-pitched sound made by blowing air through pursed lips is called a blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English whistel, whistil, whistle, from Old English hwistle, from the verb (see below).