1A clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth.

1. 1.1 A sound similar to a whistle, especially one made by a bird, machine, or the wind.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • South Africa attacked from the opening whistle forcing mistakes from the England side.
   • It will not be the crowd or the prospect of penalties that will induce butterflies in the game's most hyped striker, nor even thoughts of the first whistle sounding at 8pm.
   • Brian Foste's well struck shot to goalie Tom Nolan's left was greeted by cheers by the home supporters and less than a minute later the final whistle sounded.
   • Shortly after, Bernard Duff sounded the final whistle.
   • All I could hear was a series of piercing bangs and whistles and orange lights.
   • They have a variety of calls usually described as whistles, rattles, trills, squeaks or screams.
   • A sensitive microphone placed close to the eardrum typically records a faint hum, but in many human subjects clear whistles can be picked up on top of the background buzz.
   • Following Cullen's goal, Padraig Kenny fired over three quick points before the final whistle sounded for a stunned Gortletteragh.
   • The city itself is a spectacle to behold, with dazzling lights, beeps and whistles, and the sound of change going ‘jingle jangle’ all night long.
   • The final whistle sounded seconds afterwards and Towers had survived.
   • Its call is a series of clear, hollow whistles, all on one pitch.
   • Resident orcas are highly vocal and communicate with a learned repertoire of clicks, whistles and squeals.
   • The ground cleared in a flash when the whistle sounded for half time
   • But the final whistle was greeted with roars of joy mixed with relief from the Holte End as the score from the Stadium Of Light filtered through.
   • The Tramore defence was unyielding, however, and the final whistle sounded as Richard Hickey cleared the ball to midfield.
   • Hall, a close friend of the 20-year-old, was especially delighted that Routledge received a standing ovation on the final whistle.
   • But today, the engine's whistles were sounding again and its 70-ton, 27 ft high flywheel was turning for the first time in more than 30 years.
   • A cacophony of booms and whistles and bangs plays around us, and we eat popcorn and watch the sky explode.
   • He described the male call as a high-pitched whistle repeating a long, drawn-out KI-WI sound about 30 times.
   • The music of the spheres turns out to be a mixture of whistles, chirrups, howls, static and something that sounds like chattering voices.

   Synonyms

   trill, trilling, song, birdsong, cry, warbling, chirp, chirping, chirrup, chirruping, chirr, chirring, cheep, cheeping, twitter, twittering, tweet, tweeting, whistle, whistling, chatter, chattering, squeak, squeaking, pipe, piping, peep, peeping, call, calling
2. 1.2 A device that produces a whistle by the forced passage of air through a slit in a small tube, especially for giving a signal.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Wendy Gamble, president of the New Toronto Historical Society, describes a time when factory whistles sounded around town and workers would walk to work.
   • The works required four trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, and several percussion instruments including bells & whistles!
   • The music is a unique sound of Irish folk ballads, traditional tunes with vocals accompanied by bazouki, bodhran, harmonicas and whistles.
   • Among the principal musical instruments are tam-tams, pottery drums, goat-horn whistles and flutes, and gourd-cala-bash horns.
   • These include harps, lyres, whistles, horns, pan-pipes, bones, psalteries and some form of drum.
   • Trumpets and whistles competed with the sound of African drums as the noisy march made its way through the city centre.
   • As the referee's whistle sounded to signal the foul, Mark crashed hard, landing awkwardly on his left ankle.
   • Ten minutes later the gym teacher, Mr. Johnson, huffed into his whistle signaling the end of the class.
   • She was out by the playground when the whistle blew, signaling the end of lunch recess.
   • Their effort, worthless in itself, merely a means to an end - the finishing line or the factory whistle signaling the end of the workday.
   • He got his first musical instrument - a whistle, at the age of seven from a neighbour, Bernie Marren.
   • The woodwind players are sometimes asked to play ocarinas, those strange lemon-shaped clay whistles with simple finger-holes all over them.
   • Boris had the crowd enthralled with his dexterity on the whistle and harmonica.
   • There was screaming and yelling and the blowing of whistles and it sounded for a moment like someone had opened the gates to hell.
   • He plays Celtic whistle, didgeridoo, panpipes, flute and bass flute in his trademark blend of Celtic, classical, jazz and folk music.
   • Apparently the fans were enjoying the proceedings on the pitch when Banda pre-maturely blew the whistle to signal the end of the thrilling encounter.
   • The train whistle blew twice, signaling that the two o'clock train was going to pull out of the station.
   • Their robust, carnivalesque dance-beat, accompanied by whistles, sounds like party night in an Ibizan superclub.
   • The teacher took out his whistle and signaled to begin.
   • Protesters are invited to bring kazoos, whistles, pots, pans and biscuit tins and to meet at 11.30 am at Speakers Corner.

   Synonyms

   siren, warning sound, alarm signal, danger signal, distress signal, alert

1no object Emit a clear, high-pitched sound by forcing breath through a small hole between one's lips or teeth.

1. 1.1 Express surprise, admiration, or derision by making a whistling sound.
   Bob whistled. “You look beautiful!” he said

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Apparently not, because when I went to the dentist yesterday he took one look and whistled through his perfect teeth.
   • The group of Francesca's supporters all whistled and clapped loudly.
   • Evan whistled under his breath as he pulled over to pick her up.
   • The interior lights were down low, but I could still see better than before, and I stopped myself from whistling in surprise.
   • Finally his words were drowned out by the crowd, and they whistled, yelled, whooped, hollered and applauded in a frenzy.
   • As the shooting stopped, they whistled derision at police while organisers pleaded for calm.
   • They were getting their money's worth and clapped, whistled and screamed for more.
   • I looked out at them all again and saw that the majority of those watching were standing, applauding and whistling.
   • Everyone else must have been feeling the same way because the audience started booing and whistling.
   • All the boys holler and whistle and most of the girls blush.
   • As he summarized the events and claimed his Stasi was still solidly in control, deputies began to hoot and whistle in derision.
   • They hooted, they cheered, they whistled, as the cricketers walked up and down the 2,400 square feet showroom.
   • The crowd whooped, whistled and applauded through the opening credits.
   • I loved the fact that guys were hooting, hollering, and whistling at me.
   • Soon he had the press pack acting like any other crowd of celebrity-stunned well-wishers, clapping and happily whistling at their hero.
   • She whistled with derision at the idea, and began to march off.
   • The people clapped, somebody whistled, and we felt proud of ourselves.
   • Some of the people in the audience whistled while others just cheered.
   • He whistled in admiration and they both got their bags out.
   • Dan whistled in surprise, quoting a line from ancient poetry.
2. 1.2with object Produce (a tune) by whistling.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • And then once more, he marched off, whistling a merry tune as he went.
   • Yet while they sing naturally, songbirds are also trained by their owners, who spend many hours whistling tunes at them, or playing birdsong on tape as examples to follow.
   • For example, on one occasion he embarked on the story of his first marriage and ended up telling me how he likes to whistle tunes in the street.
   • His classmates told me how good Robert was at whistling and he whistled a tune for me.
   • The figure slowly walked into the room whistling a familiar tune of one of his favorite bands.
   • With that she walked away whistling a tune off the top of her head.
   • Sanjeet let himself out, whistling a tune from a 1960's movie.
   • Other than that, it's 6.30 ish, so I'm away to Oxford, whistling a happy tune and lugging a bag that feels like I've packed it for about a month.
   • Stephen came strolling in, whistling a tune he had just heard on the radio.
   • Ungainly but smooth, this theme gives the audience something to whistle on the way home.
   • One of the more memorable scenes in the book, at least for me, has Smith observing a working-class woman whistling a tune while hanging out the washing.
   • I might as well be walking around with my college scarf, crest blazing, whistling a tune.
   • We were trying to throw the poles aside while whistling a merry tune.
   • Julius smiled and began whistling an old tune he liked as he walked down one of the many corridors of the colony.
   • The most natural way to express joy is to whistle a happy tune.
   • Though private radio has sustained painful financial losses so far, their executives are still walking about whistling a cheery tune.
   • He whistled an old song he had memorized and stared at the sea.
   • The birds, which were stolen from an aviary in Salisbury last month, were rescued by police after a member of the public heard them whistling the distinctive tune.
   • Mark was a large, strong guy who looked as if he could take care of troublesome people while whistling a merry tune.
   • Michael Grant simply whistled some tunes from the SFA song book.

   Synonyms

   fizz, fizzle, whistle, wheeze, buzz, shrill
3. 1.3 (especially of a bird or machine) produce a clear, high-pitched sound.
   the kettle began to whistle

   Example sentencesExamples

   • When it began to whistle she took it off and poured the hot water into two mugs.
   • The kettle began to whistle, and she broke herself out of her reverie and made two mugs of tea.
   • She heard the late birds chirp, the crickets whistle, the stray dogs howl.
   • The train whistled and slowly began its entrance to the London station.
   • The kettle on the stove whistled sharply, interrupting her thoughts.
   • A howler monkey screamed in the tree tops and frogs and cicadas and other creatures he could not name whistled and chirped in the dark.
   • When the kettle began whistling, I turned around to get the hot water for my green tea.

   Synonyms

   call, calls, calling, chirp, chirps, chirping, cheep, cheeps, cheeping, peep, peeps, peeping, chirrup, chirrups, chirruping, warble, warbles, warbling, trill, trills, trilling, twitter, twittering, whistling, piping, birdsong
4. 1.4 Produce a whistling sound by moving rapidly through the air or a narrow opening.
   the wind was whistling down the chimney

   Example sentencesExamples

   • A biting wind blew furiously, whistling against the peak and making the clouds swirl about like ghosts.
   • ‘The wind used to whistle through the door but not any longer,’ said Mr Ellis, who has lived in the house for 15 years.
   • The weather contributes to the feeling with winds whistling through the towns and rain lashing against our windows.
   • Cold winds whistled through the railings on the Jacksonville Beach Pier one morning last week.
   • The wind was whistling through the many holes but, fortunately for us, the return trip was to be made over the North Sea instead of the usual route over Europe.
   • I sat there, with the sun beating down on me, the wind whistling in my hair and the sound of a buzzard overhead looking for prey.
   • One of the huge stained-glass windows on the north side of the building had been removed, allowing a bitterly cold wind to whistle around the building.
   • Time to dust off the old Harley, head out of town, and start feeling that wind whistling through your hair.
   • They were standing in a butcher shop, with the wind whistling through the cracks around the door.
   • More of the bullets seemed to be whistling past the gaping holes rather than creating any kind of impact with the afflicted target.
   • This section of road was flat and not having the wind whistling through our helmets we became acutely aware of just how isolated and tranquil our surroundings were.
   • Katie heard the distinct sounds of water gurgling and wind whistling though caves in the rock.
   • All you could hear was the wind whistling through the stadium
   • The only sound is the wind whistling through the tall pines.
   • The mountains had always been my refuge; in the wind whistling through the crevices, I have long found peaceful reassurance.
   • Strong north-westerly winds whistling around Blackpool's cavernous Winter Gardens this week appear to have blown away the Conservatives.
   • His breath whistles through his teeth as he climbs.
   • The wind whistled through the holes in my woolly hat, rather defying the point of wearing it in the first place.
   • Instantly the whole hill became spotted with white puffs of smoke, and bullets began to whistle through our little grove.
   • She awoke the next morning to the sound of chirping birds and the wind whistling through the trees.
5. 1.5 Blow an instrument that makes a whistle, especially as a signal.
   the referee did not whistle for a foul

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Referee Brian Crowe started as he meant to go on: whistling for even the slightest indiscretion.
   • That would have been harsh, but it was even more baffling when it emerged later that Mr East whistled for a spot-kick because of a handball by Paul Groves.
   • The game was stuck in the middle of the pitch for long periods as both teams cancelled each other out and the referee constantly whistled for minor offences stopping either side gaining momentum.
   • Urs Meier, the Swiss referee, appears to have stopped whistling fouls against either team.
   • Receiving a clearance on his own 22, he made a burst beyond halfway and then was promptly and harshly whistled for not releasing by referee Simon McDowell.
   • He cleared decisively, pumping his fist at the animated and ecstatic stand as the ref whistled for the last time.
   • Fear of cold doomed them before the ref even whistled play to begin.
   • Referee Declan Corcoran had a busy match, whistling for 45 frees and flashing no less than eight yellow cards in what was a very stop-start game throughout.
   • Minutes later UW's parade to the penalty box continued when Della Mora was whistled for slashing.
   • The remainder of the first period saw the two clubs whistled for a pair of penalties each, but neither side could capitalize on the ensuing power plays.
   • And when Tyrone Howe allowed a Troncon box kick to bounce just short of the Irish line, his team was fortunate that the referee whistled for an earlier offence and also that Pilat missed the kick.
   • Referee Karl Kirkpatrick was the dominant figure in the opening exchanges, whistling 13 penalties in the first half before dishing out four yellow cards in the second.
   • Ajet's header under pressure had put him in between the two last defenders, but referee Mr L. Williams spurned the chance to play advantage and whistled for the foul on the provider.
   • Top of the list of Rathvilly errors was over-carrying, which the referee whistled for time and again.
   • Referee George Mitchell whistled for a penalty which Scott Crabbe converted.
   • No more than the rest of us, the referee couldn't see what was coming and instead of leaving the advantage to develop he whistled for a free to Laois while Fitzpatrick was in full flow.
6. 1.6whistle someone/something upwith object Summon something or someone by making a whistling sound.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • A group of Carlow coursing owners laid a sawdust all-weather straight gallop at Ballinabranna, where the dogs are whistled up, and usually behind a lead dog.
   • It’s time to whistle up a profit on mining shares.
   • Whistle Up a Texas Fried Turkey!
   • We sell these world wide to hotels who use them for the concierge to whistle up a taxi!
   • Some might think that a reunion can be whistled up but it takes time and careful planning to make it a success.

2whistle forWish for or expect (something) in vain.