Word
whistle
Phoneticswhis·tle
US/ˈhwɪsəɫ/
UK/wˈɪsəl/
Definitions
01the instrument
n. a small tool that you blow into to make a loud, high sound.
n. a small instrument designed to produce a shrill, high-pitched sound when air or steam is forced through it.
“The referee blew his whistle to stop the game after a foul.”
“The coach kept a silver whistle around his neck to signal the start of each training drill across the noisy field.”
02the sound
n. the high-pitched sound made by blowing air through your lips or a tool.
n. a shrill, high-frequency sound produced by whistling or by a mechanical device.
“He gave a long, low whistle when he saw the expensive new car.”
“The sharp whistle of the kettle interrupted their conversation, signaling that the water had finally reached a boil.”
03to make the sound
v. to make a high sound by blowing air through your lips.
v. to produce a shrill, musical, or signaling sound by forcing breath through a small orifice formed by the lips.
“She began to whistle a happy tune while she worked in the garden.”
“He would often whistle absentmindedly while walking, a habit that his colleagues found both charming and slightly distracting during quiet mornings.”
Synonyms
04to move quickly with a sound
v. to move very fast through the air with a high-pitched noise.
v. to move rapidly through the air or a narrow opening while producing a characteristic high-pitched sound.
“The wind started to whistle through the gaps in the old windows.”
“The winter gale began to whistle through the mountain pass, making a haunting sound that echoed against the frozen rock faces.”
05a suit of clothes
n. a set of matching clothes, like a jacket and trousers.
n. a suit of clothes; derived from the Cockney rhyming slang 'whistle and flute'.
“He wore his best whistle to the wedding.”
“He turned up to the interview in a sharp new whistle, hoping the professional appearance would compensate for his lack of experience.”
British English · Slang · Dialect
Teaching tip
This is specific to London Cockney rhyming slang; most English speakers outside the UK will not understand it.
Etymology
From Middle English whistel, whistil, whistle, from Old English hwistle, from the verb (see below).
From Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlan, hwistlian (“to whistle”), from Proto-West Germanic hwistlōn, from Proto-Germanic hwistlōną (“to make a hissing sound”). Cognate with Swedish vissla (“to whistle”), Icelandic hvísla (“to whisper”), Russian свистеть (svistetʹ, “to whistle”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
bells and whistles — Extra features added for show rather than function; fancy additions or features.
blow the whistle — To disclose information to the public or to appropriate authorities concerning the illegal or socially harmful actions of a person or group, especially a corporation or government agency.
clean as a whistle — Very clean.
make pigs and whistles of — To ruin (something); to make a severe mess of (something).
not worth a whistle — Worthless or pointless.
wet one's whistle — To have a drink; to quench one's thirst.
whistle Dixie — To engage in idle conversational fantasies.
whistle for — To request or ask for with no chance of success.
whistle in the dark — To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it.
whistle in the wind — To attempt something that is futile; to say something that is not heeded.
Show all 12
whistle past the graveyard — To attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; to proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome.
whistle walk — The path slaves took to deliver food from the kitchen building of a plantation to the main dining room. Stories claim that slaves were expected to whistle during this walk in order to assure their masters that they were not eating the food.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/whistle