chirped; chirping; chirps
1
intransitive
: to make a chirp or a sound resembling a chirp
chirping birds
… he had listened many times to the sound of grasshoppers chirping in the grass, and he had always liked the noise that they made.—
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl… Jesse Levine was luxuriating at home in Boca Raton last month when his cellphone chirped.—L. Jon Wertheim
L. Jon Wertheim2
transitive
: to utter (something) with a cheerful liveliness
She sang three songs … and chirped "Goodbye everybody! See you tomorrow!"—Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor3
intransitive
informal
: to make sharply critical, complaining, or taunting remarks
Emotions boiled over for Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and cornerback Josh Norman after the two chirped at each other consistently for two weeks.—Ben Volin
Ben VolinAfter the fight, which McLeod more or less won, the two chirped at each other in the penalty box …—USA Today
USA Today… some of his teammates chirped about the officiating …—Jack McCallum
Jack McCallum
: the characteristic short sharp sound especially of a small bird or insect
Synonyms
Examples of chirp in a Sentence
Verb
The birds were chirping in the trees.
We heard the crickets chirping.
Recent Examples on the WebJeremy Redmon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023
There are no students coming home from school, no cars taking families to the beach, no birds chirping in our garden trees.
—Mosab Abu Toha, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023
Advertisement Nothing is easy Two hundred miles southeast of Hells Canyon, cows are mooing and birds are chirping as the sun rises over the Snake River Plain.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Semien hit a home run the inning prior and also chirped at Maldonado, but the Rangers’ All-Star second baseman appeared confused after his ejection.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 27 July 2023
Consciousness, on the other hand, is about states of being—seeing the blue sky, hearing birds chirp, feeling pain, being in love.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2023
Other situations, such as a honeyguide chirping to the badger and the badger following the bird to a bees’ nest are unclear.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 June 2023
Imagine the sound of people speaking Nahuatl, a canoe gliding through the canals, and birds chirping in the trees.
—WIRED, 17 Sep. 2023
The EcoBoost also chirps its tires on the one-two upshift, which is a fun little flourish.
—Andrew Krok, Car and Driver, 7 Sep. 2023
Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2023
There is also a sound detection software, which can infer chicken moods and behaviors through the pitch and pattern of their clucks, chirps, and alerts.
—Charlotte Hu, Popular Science, 19 Oct. 2023
During summers in the Eastern U.S., woodlands are filled with their song.
04
House Finch
Haemorhous mexicanus
Finches have bright, cheerful chirps and can be found across the U.S, as far north as Maine and throughout the Southern states.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
The frequency of the chirps is about 90 per minute at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
—oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023
Fournet, now a professor at the University of New Hampshire and the director of a collective of conservation scientists, has spent the past decade building a catalog of the various chirps, shrieks, and groans that humpbacks make in daily life.
—Camille Bromley, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023
Three stories above a busy stretch of North Halsted, on a rooftop with views of downtown skyscrapers, crickets chirp and prairie flowers dance in the breeze.
—Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
From the blackbirds with red shoulder pads to the murmuration-forming starlings, these birds have plenty to recommend them, including their warbles, chirps, and whistles.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
Raskin has made a few-second chirp of a chiffchaff bird.
—Camille Bromley, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023
See More
Verb
Birds chirped outside, blocking out the city’s nearly constant drone of mopeds.
—Jeremy Redmon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023
There are no students coming home from school, no cars taking families to the beach, no birds chirping in our garden trees.
—Mosab Abu Toha, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023
Advertisement Nothing is easy Two hundred miles southeast of Hells Canyon, cows are mooing and birds are chirping as the sun rises over the Snake River Plain.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Semien hit a home run the inning prior and also chirped at Maldonado, but the Rangers’ All-Star second baseman appeared confused after his ejection.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 27 July 2023
Consciousness, on the other hand, is about states of being—seeing the blue sky, hearing birds chirp, feeling pain, being in love.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2023
Other situations, such as a honeyguide chirping to the badger and the badger following the bird to a bees’ nest are unclear.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 June 2023
Imagine the sound of people speaking Nahuatl, a canoe gliding through the canals, and birds chirping in the trees.
—WIRED, 17 Sep. 2023
The EcoBoost also chirps its tires on the one-two upshift, which is a fun little flourish.
—Andrew Krok, Car and Driver, 7 Sep. 2023
Noun
Across 92 tracks, the sonorous amphibians strike up all manner of din: chirps, croaks, barks, chirrups, beeps, honks, buzzes, squawks, blips, whines, and grunts.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2023
There is also a sound detection software, which can infer chicken moods and behaviors through the pitch and pattern of their clucks, chirps, and alerts.
—Charlotte Hu, Popular Science, 19 Oct. 2023
During summers in the Eastern U.S., woodlands are filled with their song.
04
House Finch
Haemorhous mexicanus
Finches have bright, cheerful chirps and can be found across the U.S, as far north as Maine and throughout the Southern states.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
The frequency of the chirps is about 90 per minute at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
—oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023
Fournet, now a professor at the University of New Hampshire and the director of a collective of conservation scientists, has spent the past decade building a catalog of the various chirps, shrieks, and groans that humpbacks make in daily life.
—Camille Bromley, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023
Three stories above a busy stretch of North Halsted, on a rooftop with views of downtown skyscrapers, crickets chirp and prairie flowers dance in the breeze.
—Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
From the blackbirds with red shoulder pads to the murmuration-forming starlings, these birds have plenty to recommend them, including their warbles, chirps, and whistles.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
Raskin has made a few-second chirp of a chiffchaff bird.
—Camille Bromley, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chirp.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Chirp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chirp. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
chirp
verbˈchərp
: to make a short sharp sound like a small bird or cricket
chirp
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on chirp
Nglish: Translation of chirp for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chirp
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