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purr

 - 4 dictionary results

purr

  [pur]
Use purr in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.
2. (of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat: The new motor of the car purred.
–verb (used with object)
3. to express by or as if by purring.
–noun
4. the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.
5. a sound resembling this.
6. the act of purring.
Also, pur.

Origin:
1595–1605; imit.

Related forms:
purr⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To purr
purr   (pûr)   
n.  

  1. The soft vibrant sound made by a cat.

  2. A sound similar to that made by a cat: the purr of an engine.

v.   purred, purr·ing, purrs

v.   intr.
To make or utter a soft vibrant sound: The cat purred. The sewing machine purred.
v.   tr.
To express by a soft vibrant sound.

[Imitative.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
purr (like a cat)

  1. in.
    [for an engine] to run well and smoothly. : New spark plugs and this old heap will really purr like a cat.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

purr 
1601, of imitative origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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