chirp

play

verb \ ˈchərp \

Definition of chirp

intransitive verb

:to make a chirp or a sound resembling a chirp

transitive verb

:to utter with a cheerful liveliness

she chirped "good morning"

See chirp defined for English-language learners

See chirp defined for kids

Examples of chirp in a Sentence

The birds were chirping in the trees.
We heard the crickets chirping.

Recent Examples of chirp from the Web

Tom Grippa's Milford debut probably has the Eagles chirping.

— scott springer, Cincinnati.com, "Scott Springer High School sports breakdown Week 1," 26 Aug. 2017
The temperature dropped, crickets chirped in the cornfields and the sky went dark except for a ring of rosy gold just above the horizon.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "Tourists flock to a Kansas cornfield for the Great American Eclipse," 21 Aug. 2017
Crickets will chirp, cows will march back to their barns and swarms of once-busy honeybees will fly hurriedly home to their hives when a total solar eclipse sweeps across the U.S. next week.

— melissa chan, Time, "How Will Animals React to the Solar Eclipse? Depends on How Smart They Are," 17 Aug. 2017
Many Democrats around Ohio - not to mention political reporters - have heard similarly vague chirping about Cordray for months.

— jeremy pelzer, cleveland.com, "Portman, Kasich balk at Obamacare repeal without replacement: Ohio Politics Roundup," 19 July 2017
LSU and Florida, while having some memorable games in the last two decades, ascended to possible rival level the last several years through social media chirping involving both teams.

— john roach, NOLA.com, "From one extreme to the other: Wednesday's SEC Media Days preview," 12 July 2017
In the morning, the 11 full-time residents of Right 2 Dream Too can hear birds chirping outside their 8-by-8-foot tiny houses.

— molly harbarger, OregonLive.com, "Right 2 Dream Too, homeless 'rest stop,' opens to public at new spot," 10 July 2017
The crowd chanted and whistled as a police cruiser chirped its siren.

— Time, "Turkey's 'Justice Marchers' Are Walking to Istanbul to Protest Erdogan," 7 July 2017
At the University City station, there was more space allotted than before and a pleasant atmosphere on a Tuesday among the gentle breezes and chirping birds.

— genevieve glatsky, The Seattle Times, "At rail station, commuters ‘date’ while they wait," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chirp.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chirp

imitative

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1557

See Words from the same year

chirp Synonyms

Synonyms

cheep, chirrup, chitter, jargon, peep, pip, pipe, tweet, twitter

Related Words

cackle, chatter, jabber; sing, trill, warble

chirp

noun

Definition of chirp

:the characteristic short sharp sound especially of a small bird or insect

Recent Examples of chirp from the Web

CHIRP fund-raising events: Bunny, Deeper At this show, proceeds from the bar go to CHIRP.

— kevin warwick, Chicago Reader, "CHIRP sees the transmitter at the end of the tunnel," 16 Aug. 2017
Visiting the mountain cloud forests, which once echoed with the chirps of harlequin frogs, they were struck by the silence.

— erik stokstad, Science | AAAS, "A fungus is attacking Europe’s most beloved salamander. It could wreak havoc if it gets to North America," 19 July 2017
Even the sound design contributes to the feeling of isolation: the birds chirp against a background of distant cannon fire.

— robert w. butler, kansascity.com, "Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Beguiled’ has its charms but should have been more beguiling," 29 June 2017
What results is a computerized and anti-climactic slingshot that hurtles the 3868-pound Acura off the line with a minute chirp from its tires.

— mike sutton, Car and Driver, "Strip Tease: Watch the 2017 Acura NSX Turn 11s at the Drag Strip [Video]," 23 June 2017
A microphone and speakers amplified the chirps of crickets throughout the forest, while people gathered around a music-making machine consisting of water drops hitting metallic buckets, manipulated through a touch screen.

— piet levy, USA TODAY, "Eaux Claires festival recap: Chance the Rapper wows, Wilco gets weird," 17 June 2017
Blue jays and sparrows dart in and out of shrubs, stopping by to chirp while perched on the fence.

— debbie arrington, sacbee.com, "World-famous author has found his writing utopia – outdoors, under a tarp, in Davis," 9 June 2017
Growls, chirps, buzzes and roars echo through the dark.

— sara stewart, CNN, "First look inside Disney's new 'Avatar -- World of Pandora'," 26 May 2017
AOL, Compuserve, mp3.com, and AltaVista loaded bit by bit after dial-up chirps, on screens across the world.

— sarah scoles, The Atlantic, "A Brief History of SETI@Home," 23 May 2017

First Known Use of chirp

circa 1586

CHIRP Defined for English Language Learners

chirp

play

verb

Definition of chirp for English Language Learners

: to make a short high-pitched sound
: to say (something) in a cheerful and lively way

CHIRP Defined for Kids

chirp

play

noun \ ˈchərp \

Definition of chirp for Students

:the short high-pitched sound made by crickets and some small birds

chirp

verb

Definition of chirp for Students

chirped; chirping

:to make a short high-pitched sound

We heard insects chirping.

Learn More about chirp

See words that rhyme with chirp Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for chirp Spanish Central: Translation of chirp Nglish: Translation of chirp for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chirp

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chirp

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Examples of chirp in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of chirp

chirp Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

chirp

Definition of chirp

Recent Examples of chirp from the Web

First Known Use of chirp

CHIRP Defined for English Language Learners

chirp

Definition of chirp for English Language Learners

CHIRP Defined for Kids

chirp

Definition of chirp for Students

chirp

Definition of chirp for Students

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