whistling

noun

whis·​tling ˈ(h)wi-s(ə-)liŋ 

: the act or sound of one that whistles : whistle

Examples of whistling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps that’s a rational judgment that attitudes toward Trump are so deeply felt that nothing will significantly shift them, perhaps its whistling past a graveyard. —David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2023

Later, as Adonis sets off on the hunt, two flutes and a piccolo evoke his fatal insouciance, issuing birdlike high harmonics and an Aeolian whistling that is produced by blowing directly into the instrument. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023

No more snipe whistling in the meadow, no more piping of widgeons and chattering of teal as darkness covers the marshes; no more whistling of swift wings when the morning star pales in the east? —Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2023

And rather than being empathetic to the people who were violated by Rock in that moment, their immediate go-to is dog whistling and virtue signaling, insinuating that Smith is some kind of danger to society for standing up for his wife. —Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 28 Mar. 2022

In magazine articles, Mr. Gershkovich reflected on the Russian superstitions his mother practiced at home; no whistling or opening umbrellas indoors and no setting keys or wallets on the dinner table. —Joe Parkinson, WSJ, 31 Mar. 2023

Later, the whistling of the gravedigger (Relyea, who also sings the chief of the players’ troupe) passes with miraculous restraint into the orchestra, until the solemnity of the ensemble is cut through with sardonic grunts of brass and more windy wheezes of accordion. —New York Times, 15 May 2022

Morocco’s irrepressible fans, with their rhythmic chants and high-pitched whistling, became the soundtrack for the tournament, and as the team continued winning an entire region of the world got behind the players. —Staff Writer follow, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2022

When the national anthem drifted into the night, some manufactured applause and whistling was piped in like a 1970s sitcom. —Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2020

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Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing whistling

• whistling swan

• whistling swan