chirp

1 of 2

verb

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
… 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

2 of 2

noun

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

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
Yes, the sun might be glancing off the snowdrifts, and the birds may be chirping away with blithe exuberance. Celine Nguyen, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024 Be one with the birds in Altadena With spring nearly here, the hills are lush and the birds are chirping. Michael Charboneau, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Birds chirping overhead, horses galloping in the distance — and in the middle of the rural scene, a coffee shop. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024 Winfield still remembers piling into Bill Peterson’s Volkswagen, kids chirping at each other and singing tunes on their way up to Cold Spring, where Peterson’s father had a cabin, to play games. Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2024 Throughout the show, a CGI home goes from trap-house commotion — the flash of police lights reflected from the windows and the clamor of disarray filling the air — to an idyllic suburban house, with birds chirping, thriving rose bushes, and an American flag draped from it. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023 Choose from rain sounds to a cat purring, crickets chirping, a clothes dryer, pink noise, and everything in between, or add your own. Courtenay Rudzinski, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2023 As cicadas chirped in the trees overhead, five doubles games were underway, the thwock-thwock of the perforated plastic balls punctuated by players calling out the score or groaning when their ball hit the net. Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023 Birds chirped outside, blocking out the city’s nearly constant drone of mopeds. Jeremy Redmon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023
Noun
Staff spoke softly to keep the animals calm, so the only sounds were the squawks, chirps and warbles of the birds, and the crunching and rustling of animals eating breakfast. Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 Before long, there’s a chirp and flash of blue in the shrubbery. Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024 Once on the brink of extinction, elephant seals are expanding north into new breeding grounds along the California coast, turning long-empty beaches into a ruckus of roars, grunts, chirps and moans. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 There’s an immersive soundscape too: Water babbles, birds chirp and insects whine about who knows what. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2024 How to turn the chirp off on Facebook for iPhone or Android In the Facebook app, open the menu by clicking the button. The Arizona Republic, 14 Feb. 2024 In Las Vegas, the cacophony of voices, music, ringing slot machines and car horns that typically pulsed through the Las Vegas Strip was replaced by silence, the chirps of birds and the wails of sirens. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 Temperatures drop, the wind picks up, insects chirp, bats come out to feed, farm animals head for their barns and birds go to roost. Katherine Rodeghier, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2024 Every 10 minutes or so, the orbs croak like frogs, or chirp like crickets, and sparkle with light. Kat McGowan, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2024

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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Verb

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1586, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chirp was in 1566

Dictionary Entries Near chirp

Cite this Entry

“Chirp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chirp. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chirp

verb
ˈchərp
: to make a short sharp sound like a small bird or cricket
chirp noun

More from Merriam-Webster on chirp

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