whir

verb (used without object)

to go, fly, revolve, or otherwise move quickly with a humming or buzzing sound: An electric fan whirred softly in the corner.

verb (used with object)

to move or transport (a thing, person, etc.) with a whirring sound: The plane whirred them away into the night.

noun

an act or sound of whirring: the whir of wings.

Also, whirr.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English quirre (Scots) < Scandinavian; compare Danish hvirre, Norwegian kvirra. See whirl

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World English Dictionary

whir or whirr (wɜː)

—n
1.	a prolonged soft swish or buzz, as of a motor working or wings flapping
2.	a bustle or rush

—vb , whirs, whirrs, whirring, whirred
3.	to make or cause to make a whir

[C14: probably from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian kvirra, Danish hvirre; see whirl]

whirr or whirr

—n

—vb

[C14: probably from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian kvirra, Danish hvirre; see whirl]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10

Whir is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

whir

c.1400, Scottish, "fling, hurl," probably from O.N. hvirfla, freq. of hverfa "to turn" (see wharf). Cf. Dan. hvirvle, Du. wervelen, Ger. wirbeln "to whirl."

Example sentences

Examples include the whir of an operating disk drive and the click of a key

being pushed.

Mechanical scream replaced by relatively soothing whir.

But unlike many hunting situations, there was no downed duck to pick up or whir

of wings as a pheasant flushed.

The city was silent, except for the whir of helicopters.

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Related Words

whirry

Matching Quote

"Kitchens were different then, too—not only what came out of them, but their smells and sounds. A hot pie cooling smells different from a frozen pie thawing. Oilcloth and linoleum and apples in an open bowl and ruffled rubber aprons make a different aromatic mix from Formica and ceramic tile and mangoes in an acrylic fruit ripener and plastic-coated aprons printed with "Who invited all these tacky people?" And the kitchen sounds. I am not sure that today's kitchen is noisier. But the noises are different. Today you get the song of the food processor and the blender, the intermittent hum of the reefer and the freezer, the buzz-slosh-and-grunt of the dishwasher, the violently audible digestive processes of the waste disposal in the sink. Then it was the whir and clatter of the hand-powered eggbeater, the thunk-thunk-thunk of somebody mashing potatoes, or, in green-pea season, the crisp pop of pea pod and the rattle-rattle-rattle of peas into the pan."

-Peg Bracken