chirp

verb

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\ ˈchərp

chirped; chirping; chirps

Definition of chirp

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 … Jesse Levine was luxuriating at home in Boca Raton last month when his cellphone chirped.— L. Jon Wertheim

2 transitive : to utter (something) with a cheerful liveliness She sang three songs … and chirped "Goodbye everybody! See you tomorrow!"— Garrison Keillor

3 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 After the fight, which McLeod more or less won, the two chirped at each other in the penalty box … — USA Today … some of his teammates chirped about the officiating …— Jack McCallum

chirp

noun

Definition of chirp (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About chirp

Examples of chirp in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The only sound came from the car radio, which pretended that nothing had happened and continued to blissfully chirp out happy holiday tunes that praised the winter wonderland weather that entrapped us. — The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 2021 Uquq especially—would chirp a few notes in return, sidling up to Sivuqaq, gripping his flanks, nuzzling up against his neck. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 29 June 2021 These backdrops shimmer and swell around her voice, and bells chime distantly and birds chirp in the fuzzy gauze. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2021 Before his grandfather became ill, Matt said Bernard attended many of his basketball games and would chirp at officials. — Jeff Vorva, chicagotribune.com, 9 Apr. 2021 But Bill Frederick Park offers plenty of space for visitors to become immersed in nature, listen to the birds chirp and slow down with any number of recreational activities. — Patrick Connolly, orlandosentinel.com, 26 Mar. 2021 Birds chirp on the recording before piano and ethereal synths provide a bed for Faithfull’s recitation of the poem, which describes a woman’s unparalleled grace. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2021 The two would chirp at each other during games, and Randall even saluted Auriemma after hitting a game-winning shot in 2000 at Gampel Pavilion. — Rhiannon Potkey, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2021 As people can sense from watching the Cuomo brothers chirp each other, even the most lighthearted Cuomo-family trash talk comes with a tincture of grievance. — Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Birds chirp, flowers bloom, the outdoor coffee table is a solid slab of concrete. — Kate Knibbs, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022 The blue song wraps with the soft chirp of crickets. — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2022 In December 2021, Apple reduced the amount of time before the chirp alert from three days to a randomized time window of eight to 24 hours. — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 3 Feb. 2022 Whales communicate over long distances with bellowing wails, and manatees will squeak and chirp when aroused, frightened or while interacting with one another. — Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2022 The Washington State defensive lineman would still make a point to chirp at him anyway. — Luca Evans, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2022 To capture a few minutes of a frog’s chirp or a dolphin’s clicks can take hours of work because of nearly constant interruptions from noise pollution. — Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2022 There’s no word yet on whether the period of seismological quiescence observed in 2020 revealed insight into Earth’s mysterious 26-second chirp. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 21 Feb. 2022 But there were two prior studies in 1992 and 2013 focusing on the acoustic emission of bubbles collapsing at a water surface more generally, revealing that the smallest bubbles emitted more of a chirp. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Dec. 2021 See More

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.