warble Hear it!

warble¹ Definition

war·ble (wôr′bəl)

transitive verb -·bled, -·bling

  1. to sing (a song, notes, etc.) melodiously, with trills, quavers, runs, etc., as a bird does
  2. to express in song

Etymology: ME werblen < NormFr werbler < Frank *wirbilon, akin to Ger wirbeln, to whirl, warble

intransitive verb

  1. to sing melodiously, with trills, etc.
  2. to make a musical sound; babble, as a stream does
  3. ☆ yodel

noun

  1. the act of warbling
  2. a warbling sound; trill

warble² Definition

war·ble (wôr′bəl)

noun

  1. a small, hard tumor on the back of a horse, caused by the rubbing and pressing of a saddle
  2. a lump or swelling under the hide of an animal, esp. on the back, caused by the presence of a larva of a botfly, esp. a warble fly

Etymology: prob. < Scand, as in obs. Swed varbulde, a boil < var, pus + bulde, tumor

warble² Related Forms

war′·bled adjective

warble Synonyms

warble

v.

trill, yodel, quaver; see sing 1.

warble Usage Examples

Object

  • song: Song ranged from apparent full song to low warbling sub song.
  • note: Then the haggis was piped in with the warbling notes of the pipes played with gusto by Alison McLaren.
  • bird: The warbling birds dissuade to meet The idyll of fields created by a farmer.
  • voice: I could even forgive the one lady whose shrill, warbling voice almost drowned out the other twenty five there.
  • noise: Right know she's making these strange warbling noises to a huge empty cornflakes box that stands monolith like on the floor.
  • sound: Those on the felucca are woken in the middle of the night by a strange warbling screeching sound echoing out of the swamp.

Converse of object

hear: We found that the dyslexics were indeed significantly less sensitive at hearing the warbles.

Adjective modifier

  • gentle: A gentle ambient warble which wouldn't seem too out of place on this thing.
  • ambient: A gentle ambient warble which wouldn't seem too out of place on this thing.

Modifies a noun

  • fly: Sheep farmers, forced to dip sheep in organophosphates to control skin boring pests called warble fly, have suffered serious health problems.
  • tone: Repeat using unforced consonant " s " and, possibly, other stimuli such as warble tones.

Modifying Another Word

  • away: All these ivy-covered walls, birds warbling away from the branches of mature trees, spring flowers bursting into bloom.
  • still: I figure to myself he ought to be better, he looks rather crestfallen about the low notes still warbling.
  • there: Crowds of girls are there warbling his name, and, just as he promised, he's delighted to dish out the autographs.