Whirrings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The sounds produced by rapid movements, such as the rotation of machinery or the flapping of wings, creating a continuous hum or buzz
2. Noises resembling a drone or a buzzing made by something in motion, often associated with mechanical activity or the fluttering of creatures
3. The audible effects of swift or repetitive actions, generating a sound characterized by a low, whirling tone often linked to machinery or flying animals

Etymology: "Whirrings" is the plural of "whirring," a noun formed from the verb "whirr." The verb is of imitative origin: its sound mimics the rapid, vibrating noise it describes, the same way "buzz" and "hum" do. Because the word names a continuous noise, the plural is used less often than the singular, but it appears when several separate sources of such sounds are meant, as in the whirrings of a row of engines or of many wings in flight.

Synonyms: buzzings, hum

Antonyms: silence