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 base is a single can of black beans, whirred together in a food processor with taco seasoning or a quick pinch of whatever spices are around. Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 14 Oct. 2025 The machines whizzed and whirred. Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025 Fans whirred in all the rooms and often the sound of the air moving was the only sound Lucy heard. Literary Hub, 23 June 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
  • The air buzzed with laughter, connection, and anticipation.
    Essence, Essence, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Each week, social media has buzzed with his latest one-handed reception or shape-shifting juke.
    Noah White, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The zip-up collar gives it a preppy-casual vibe that can be zipped down and layered with a necklace, or zipped up with leg-elongating flare jeans and sneakers.
    Jeaneen Russell, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Whirred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whirred. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.

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