Definition of Whistle

Whistle

To make a kind of musical sound, or series of sounds, by forcing the breath through a small orifice formed by contracting the lips; also, to emit a similar sound, or series of notes, from the mouth or beak, as birds.

To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone.

To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill sound; as, a bullet whistles through the air.

To form, utter, or modulate by whistling; as, to whistle a tune or an air.

To send, signal, or call by a whistle.

A sharp, shrill, more or less musical sound, made by forcing the breath through a small orifice of the lips, or through or instrument which gives a similar sound; the sound used by a sportsman in calling his dogs; the shrill note of a bird; as, the sharp whistle of a boy, or of a boatswain's pipe; the blackbird's mellow whistle.

The shrill sound made by wind passing among trees or through crevices, or that made by bullet, or the like, passing rapidly through the air; the shrill noise (much used as a signal, etc.) made by steam or gas escaping through a small orifice, or impinging against the edge of a metallic bell or cup.

An instrument in which gas or steam forced into a cavity, or against a thin edge, produces a sound more or less like that made by one who whistles through the compressed lips; as, a child's whistle; a boatswain's whistle; a steam whistle (see Steam whistle, under Steam).

The mouth and throat; -- so called as being the organs of whistling.

Related Definitions:

Against, Air, Also, Among, An, And, As, Beak, Being, Bell, Bird, Blackbird, Blow, Boatswain, Boy, Breath, Bullet, By, Call, Called, Calling, Cavity, Child, Compressed, Contracting, Cup, Edge, Emit, Escaping, Forced, Forcing, Form, Formed, From, Gas, Gives, His, Impinging, In, Instrument, Into, Kind, Less, Like, Made, Make, Mellow, Metallic, Modulate, More, Mouth, Much, Musical, Noise, Note, Of, One, Or, Orifice, Passing, Pipe, Rapidly, See, Send, Series, Sharp, Shrill, Signal, Similar, Small, So, Somewhat, Sound, Sportsman, Steam, That, The, Thin, Throat, Through, To, Tone, Tune, Under, Used, Utter, Which, Whistle, Whistling, Who, Wind, With

Whistle Quotations

I drank some boiling water because I wanted to whistle.
Mitch Hedberg

I can whistle with my fingers, especially if I have a whistle.
Mitch Hedberg

Four hoarse blasts of a ship's whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping.
John Steinbeck

Composers should write tunes that chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle.
Thomas Beecham

It's an odd state to be in, blowing the whistle on your home country.
Michael Ondaatje

I'm as clean as a whistle.
Tommy Chong

I do not know whether there be, as a rule, more vocal expression of the sentiment of love between a man and a woman, than there is between two thrushes. They whistle and call to each other, guided by instinct rather than by reason.
Anthony Trollope

For me, winning isn't something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.
Emmitt Smith

If the pressure is getting to you, whistle. In a barely audible way. It's the best way I know of to let go of tension. Music gets your mind off the situation, and the act of whistling melts the tension out of your body.
Fuzzy Zoeller

The only thing that I miss lately in all music is somebody that will put out a melody that you can whistle. It doesn't seem like there's anything happening like that.
Merle Haggard

He seems determined to make a trumpet sound like a tin whistle.
Aneurin Bevan

You know what's good? Going on the ice and knowing that you don't have to skate when the whistle blows. All my life I've been the one skating.
Joe Sakic

When I follow the finals of the European Cups, I look at all the aspects surrounding protocol, to get some ideas. I am interested in personalities, sponsors and the stands. But as soon as the whistle goes, it's all on the pitch.
Michel Patini

You know, 20 years... the films of television when it started, the literature, radio in communist countries, they're clean as a whistle; there was no violence, no sex, no drugs, nothing.
Milos Forman

I've always been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. I always feel that you should keep singles as commercial as possible so that the people can walk down the road and whistle a song. But on the other hand on albums I think you can afford to show people what you can do.
Roy Wood

Number two, we're going to play with a lot of effort. Our guys are going to be in such good shape that fatigue is not going to be a problem. We're going to play with full effort from snap to whistle on every play the entire game.
Steve Spurrier

It would be real nice to have some kind of bell or whistle attached to this film - it would give it a longer life. People seem to need that validation to go to a film these days.
David Strathairn

I was punished for blowing the whistle on my father's lifestyle.
Tatum O'Neal

I have three tools at my disposal - my whistle, my body language and my talk. It is a question of how I marry them up to try to get the players around to my way of thinking.
Alan Lewis

We don't always agree on stuff, but when it's time to blow the whistle and start the game, we're not still debating.
Rick Wagoner

I think superheroes today are like whistle blowers.
Robert Englund

First there was racism. Then liberals created institutional racism and coded racism. You can only hear it with a dog whistle.
Evan Sayet

There was a train that would come by our house every night, and I'd hear the whistle blow. That is the sweetest memory I have.
Cassandra Wilson

I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.
William Christopher Handy

I like to hear melodies that go from one extreme to the next- saxophone to a bell to a whistle, for instance.
Roscoe Mitchell

I can dance, act, beatbox and whistle very well.
Mario Vazquez

When the whistle blew and the call stretched thin across the night, one had to believe that any journey could be sweet to the soul.
Charles Tennyson Turner

Contrary to what the fans may think, you don't just show up, wear a striped shirt and a whistle on Friday night.
Jim Mitchell

It was a perfect night for a train. The occasional whistle told Louis of all the farewells he had ever known.
Charles Tennyson Turner

In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.
Robert Lowell

More Whistle Quotations

Whistle Translations

whistle in Dutch is fluiten, gieren
whistle in French is sifflons, siffler, sifflez, sifflet, sifflement
whistle in German is Pfiff, pfeifen, pfeifen, Pfeife
whistle in Italian is fischio, fischietto, zufolare
whistle in Portuguese is assobie, assobiar
whistle in Spanish is silbar, silbato
whistle in Swedish is vina, vissling, vissla

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