warble

1 of 3

noun (1)

war·​ble ˈwȯr-bəl 

1

: a melodious succession of low pleasing sounds

2

: a musical trill

3

: the action of warbling

warble

2 of 3

verb

warbled; warbling ˈwȯr-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to sing in a trilling manner or with many turns and variations

2

: to become sounded with trills, quavers, and rapid modulations in pitch

3

: sing

transitive verb

: to render with turns, runs, or rapid modulations : trill

warble

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: a swelling under the skin especially of the back of cattle, horses, and wild mammals caused by infestation with maggots of a botfly or warble fly

2

: the maggot of a warble fly

warbled

ˈwȯr-bəld 

adjective

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• melody
• song

Verb

• trill

Examples of warble in a Sentence

Noun (1)

whistled a cheerful warble as he strolled down the street

Verb

Birds were warbling in the trees.

He warbled his way through the song.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For a time, the engine, with its distinctive exhaust warble, became closely associated with Audi’s lineup, aided in no small part by the motorsport successes of five-cylinder rally cars like the Sport Quattro S1 E2. —Bradley Iger, ArsTechnica, 25 July 2025

The music fills our bodies, its rhythm melding with a deeper-time cycle of day-to-night, seasons changing, the imperceptible warble of a planet spinning gently on its axis. —Florence Williams, Outside Online, 11 May 2025

Verb

The track begins with Winter’s distinct vocals warbling and wobbling over a tender percussion groove. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 July 2025

The famous John Williams fanfare that blasted Star Wars onto our screens had appreciably less impact than even a standard screen would now offer, let alone IMAX and Dolby Cinema premium offerings while at some parts of the film, the sound warbled a little, before returning to normal. —Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English werble tune, from Old French (Picard dialect), from werbler to sing expressively, trill, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch wervelen to turn, Old High German wirbil whirlwind — more at whirl

Noun (2)

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to obsolete Swedish varbulde boil, from var pus + bulde swelling

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing warble

• warble fly

Rhymes for warble

• corbel

Kids Definition

warble

1 of 2 noun

war·​ble ˈwȯr-bəl 

1

: low pleasing sounds forming a melody

2

: the action of warbling : trill

warble

2 of 2 verb

warbled; warbling -b(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to sing with trills

2

: to express by warbling

Medical Definition

warble

noun

war·​ble ˈwȯr-bəl 

1

: a swelling under the hide especially of the back of cattle, horses, and wild mammals caused by the maggot of a botfly or warble fly

2

: the maggot of a warble fly

warbled

-bəld 

adjective