Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

birl

play
verb \ˈbər(-ə)l, Scot also ˈbir(-ə)l\

Definition of birl

chiefly Scotland

  1. intransitive verb

  2. :  carouse

People Are Reading

image1458426927
Good Words for Strong Flavors
alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder
alt-5991e113c97b3
Trending: Trump Calls Racism 'Repugnant'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Origin and Etymology of birl

Middle English, from Old English byrelian; probably akin to Old English beran to carry — more at bear

2

birl

verb

Definition of birl

  1. transitive verb

  2. 1 :  spin

  3. 2 :  to cause (a floating log) to rotate by treading

  4. intransitive verb

  5. :  to progress by whirling

birler

play play \ˈbər-lər, ˈbir-\ noun

Origin and Etymology of birl

perhaps imitative

Learn More about birl

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for birl

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up birl? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

perfunctory

play

done merely as a duty

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  2. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  3. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  4. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

  5. cosmopolitan "Worldly"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

birl

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

image1458426927
Food Words for Strong Flavors

A tasting menu of vivid flavor descriptions

alt-5993066a3afad
What's the Plural of 'Maitre d''?

Use this word to confuse a French speaker.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game