whirred

past tense of whir
as in hummed
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound the hummingbird whirred as it hovered over a flower our tires whirred as we traveled over the rough road

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whirred The machines whizzed and whirred. Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whirred
Verb
  • Offense has largely hummed when Bo Nix is decisive.
    Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Lost in our mind frequency, which hummed loud now like a drone.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • When [ecologist Lars] Chittka gave bumblebees an extra jolt of sucrose, their favorite food, the bees buzzed with delight.
    Big Think, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Stateside, Atlanta buzzed as Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Stephanie Mills shared the stage for The Queens!
    Okla Jones, Essence, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Even light, which zipped at breathtaking pace across the dark, took many human lifetimes to traverse a single galaxy.
    Angus Fletcher, Big Think, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Dobbins darted left after taking a handoff from Bo Nix on the first play of the third quarter, found a crease and zipped down the sideline for a 41-yard run.
    Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Whirred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whirred. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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