whistle
whistle
(hwĭsʹəl, wĭsʹ-) verb
whistled
, whistling, whistles
verb
, intransitive
1.
To produce a clear musical sound by forcing air through the teeth or through an aperture formed by pursing the lips.
2.
To produce a clear, shrill, sharp musical sound by blowing on or through a device.
3.
a. To produce a high-pitched sound when moving swiftly through the air: The stone whistled past my head. b. To produce a high-pitched sound by the rapid movement of air through an opening or past an obstruction: Wind whistled through the cracks in the windows.
4. To emit a shrill, sharp, high-pitched cry, as some birds and other animals.
5. To summon by whistling.
verb
, transitive
1.
To produce by whistling: whistle a tune.
2.
To summon, signal, or direct by whistling.
3.
To cause to move with a whistling noise.
noun
1.
a. A small wind instrument for making whistling sounds by means of the breath. b. A device for making whistling sounds by means of forced air or steam: a factory whistle.
2. A sound produced by a whistling device or by whistling through the lips.
3. A whistling sound, as of an animal or a projectile.
4. The act of whistling.
5. A whistling sound used to summon or command.
idiom.
blow the whistle Slang
To expose a wrongdoing in the hope of bringing it to a halt: an attorney who blew the whistle on governmental corruption.
whistle in the dark
To attempt to keep one's courage up.
[Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlian.]