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What (who) is Whistle - definition
INSTRUMENT WHICH PRODUCES SOUND FROM A STREAM OF FORCED AIR
Industrial whistle; Fischietto; Police whistle; Pea whistle; Clay Whistle; Whistle (instrument)
![Carved [[whalebone]] whistle dated 1821. 8 cm long.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Carved whalebone whistle dated 1821. London. 8 cm long.jpg?width=200 "Carved [[whalebone]] whistle dated 1821. 8 cm long.")
![Quillacinga clay whistle, c. 1250–1500 AD, at the [[Museum of Texas Tech University]].](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Quillacinga clay whistle.jpg?width=200 "Quillacinga clay whistle, c. 1250–1500 AD, at the [[Museum of Texas Tech University]].")
whistle
(whistles, whistling, whistled)
1.
When you whistle or when you whistle a tune, you make a series of musical notes by forcing your breath out between your lips, or your teeth.
He was whistling softly to himself...
As he washed he whistled a tune.
VERB: V, V n
2.
When someone whistles, they make a sound by forcing their breath out between their lips or their teeth. People sometimes whistle when they are surprised or shocked, or to call a dog, or to show that they are impressed.
He whistled, surprised but not shocked...
Jenkins whistled through his teeth, impressed at last...
VERB: V, V prep
•
Whistle is also a noun.
Jackson gave a low whistle.
N-COUNT: oft supp N
see also wolf-whistle
3.
If something such as a train or a kettle whistles, it makes a loud, high sound.
Somewhere a train whistled...
...the whistling car radio.
VERB: V, V-ing
• whistling
...the whistling of the wind.
N-SING: oft the N of n
4.
If something such as the wind or a bullet whistles somewhere, it moves there, making a loud, high sound.
The wind was whistling through the building...
As I stood up a bullet whistled past my back.
VERB: V prep, V prep
5.
A whistle is a loud sound produced by air or steam being forced through a small opening, or by something moving quickly through the air.
Hugh listened to the whistle of a train.
...the whistle of the wind.
N-COUNT: oft N of n
6.
A whistle is a small metal tube which you blow in order to produce a loud sound and attract someone's attention.
On the platform, the guard blew his whistle...
N-COUNT
7.
A whistle is a simple musical instrument in the shape of a metal pipe with holes.
N-COUNT
see also tin whistle
8.
If you blow the whistle on someone, or on something secret or illegal, you tell another person, especially a person in authority, what is happening.
Companies should protect employees who blow the whistle on dishonest workmates and work practices.
= inform
PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR on n
see also whistle-blower
9.
If you describe something as clean as a whistle, you mean that it is completely clean.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
Whistle
·vt To send, signal, or call by a whistle.
II. Whistle ·vi The mouth and throat;
- so called as being the organs of whistling.
IV. Whistle ·vi To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill sound; as, a bullet whistles through the air.
V. Whistle ·vi To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone.
VI. Whistle ·vi 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.
VII. Whistle ·vi 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).
VIII. Whistle ·vi 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.
IX. Whistle ·vi 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.
whistle
¦ noun
1. a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth.
any similar sound.
2. an instrument used to produce such a sound, especially for giving a signal.
3. Brit. informal a suit. [from rhyming sl. whistle and flute.]
¦ verb
1. emit or produce a whistle.
produce (a tune) by whistling.
move rapidly through the air or a narrow opening with a whistling sound.
2. blow a whistle.
3. (whistle for) wish for or expect (something) in vain.
Phrases
blow the whistle on informal bring (an illicit activity) to an end by informing on the person responsible.
(as) clean as a whistle extremely clean or clear.
whistle something down the wind
1. let go or abandon something.
2. archaic turn a trained hawk loose by casting it off with the wind.
whistle in the dark pretend to be unafraid.
Derivatives
whistler noun
Origin
OE (h)wistlian (v.), (h)wistle (n.), of Gmc origin; imitative.
Wikipedia
Whistle
A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ.
Whistles have been around since early humans first carved out a gourd or branch and found they could make sound with it. In prehistoric Egypt, small shells were used as whistles. Many present day wind instruments are inheritors of these early whistles. With the rise of more mechanical power, other forms of whistles have been developed.
One characteristic of a whistle is that it creates a pure, or nearly pure, tone. The conversion of flow energy to sound comes from an interaction between a solid material and a fluid stream. The forces in some whistles are sufficient to set the solid material in motion. Classic examples are Aeolian tones that result in galloping power lines, or the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (the so-called "Galloping Gertie" of popular media). Other examples are circular disks set into vibration.
Examples of use of Whistle
1. I heard only the whistle [of the rocket]. The whistle was scary.
2. "In the second half it was whistle and whistle, fault and fault, cheat and cheat," Mourinho said after the game.
3. One can expect many a whistle–blower to think twice before blowing that whistle to a reporter.
4. That usually works." One long whistle blast means rescue.
5. The case was a rare victory for a whistle–blower.