whistle Definition
whis·tle (hwis′əl, wis′-)
intransitive verb -·tled, -·tling
- to make a clear, shrill sound or note, or a series of these, by forcing breath between the teeth or through a narrow opening made by puckering the lips
- to make a similar sound by sending steam through a small opening
- to make a clear, shrill cry: said of some birds and animals
- to move, pass, go, etc. with a high, shrill sound, as the wind
- to blow a whistle
- to have its whistle blown the train whistled
Etymology: ME whistlen < OE hwistlian: for IE base see whisper
transitive verb
- to produce (a tune, etc.) by whistling
- to summon, signal, direct, etc. by whistling
noun
- an instrument for making whistling sounds, as by forcing the breath or steam through a slit into a cavity or against a thin edge
- a clear, shrill sound made by whistling or blowing a whistle
- the act of whistling
- a signal, summons, etc. made by whistling
- a whistling sound, as of the wind
whistle Related Forms
whistle Idioms
blow the whistle (on)
Slang- to report or inform (on)
- to cause to stop; call a halt (to)
wet one's whistle
Slang to take a drink
whistle for
to seek, expect, or demand but fail to get
whistle in the dark
☆to pretend to be confident when faced with danger or defeat
whistle Synonyms
whistle
n.
whistle Synonyms
whistle
v.
whistle Usage Examples
Object
- tune: I wish I could. whistle a tune, spin a web like a spider, catch a tooth fairy.
- bullet: Bullets whistled over our heads, or past our ears.
Converse of object
- blow: However he never blew a final whistle, just waved his arms about.
- hear: Suddenly we heard the whistle of a shell, which, luckily for us, missed its target.
Adjective modifier
- shrill: Alarm calls are in the form of a shrill whistle.
- high-pitched: There's a high-pitched continuous whistle, like a steam train sounding it's whistle, or a singing kettle.
- final: We kept running to the final whistle - 90 minutes is a long time!
- loud: I had just reached the spot, when a loud whistle sounded over the moat behind me.
Modifies a noun
- blower: Michael Mann's The Insider, is the true story of a former tobacco industry executive who turns whistle blower.
- blow: It will all be over once the final whistle blows on Sunday 9th July.
- stop: A whistle stop journey through the Day Surgery Unit.
- tour: Following the whistle stop ground tour the boys then continue their journey to Scotland arriving at the hotel at 10 pm.
Noun used with modifier
- half-time: The hiatus did nothing to improve the flow of the game and both sides were probably grateful for the half-time whistle.
- penny: The distinctive tune was based on South African folk music played on a penny whistle.
- tin: If a tin whistle is made of tin, what are fog horns made of?
- chime: One locomotive, 13, acquired a chime whistle in place of the more standard type.
- wolf: To support the fairly obvious assumption, the younger the woman, the more likely she is to receive wolf whistles.
- steam: A thick mist lay over them, and from the heart of it there came the sudden scream of a steam whistle.
Possessives
referee: Play begins on the referee's whistle, with a throw-off from center court.
Present participle complement
blow: How does the ethically informed manager learn to handle the concept of ethical permissibility with regards to whistle blowing?
Browse dictionary entries near whistle
- ‹ whist
- ‹ whispering campaign
- ‹ whispering
- ‹ whispered
- ‹ whisper number
- ‹ whisper
- ‹ whiskey sour
- ‹ whiskey jack
- ‹ whiskey
- ‹ whiskers

