Chirp Sounds Like What It Describes
To chirp is to make a short high sound, as a bird or cricket does. The word is echoic: it imitates the noise itself.
To chirp is to make a short, sharp, high sound, as a small bird or a cricket does. The word is echoic, built to imitate the noise, and English has a whole set of these for sounds nothing else describes: *buzz*, *hiss*, *click*, *rustle*, *thud*, *splash*. They are among the few words whose meaning a listener can guess without ever learning them. In radar and signal processing, a chirp is a tone that sweeps in frequency.
- A short high sound. *The chirp of a sparrow.*
- To make that sound. *Crickets chirped.*
- To speak brightly. *"Ready!" she chirped.*
- Chirpy — cheerful, British. *He seems chirpy.*
- Chirp — a swept tone in signals. *A radar chirp.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | chirp | Birds chirp. |
| Past | chirped | It chirped. |
| Noun | chirp | A single chirp. |
| Adjective | chirpy | A chirpy mood. |
| Related | chirrup | A chirruping call. |
- Crickets chirped through the night.Insects.
- The smoke alarm chirps when the battery is low.Devices.
- She was unusually chirpy this morning.British informal.
Words that imitate sounds
- Chirp, tweet, twitter — small birds
- Buzz, hum, whirr — continuous machine or insect noise
- Hiss, sizzle, fizz — escaping air or liquid
- Thud, thump, clatter — impact
- These are called onomatopoeia, and every language has its own set
Middle English, of imitative origin, a variant of the earlier *chirk*. Related forms include *chirrup* and *cheep*.
What is a chirp in electronics?
A signal whose frequency sweeps up or down over time. Radar and sonar use chirps to improve resolution.
Does chirpy mean the same as cheerful?
Close, but chirpy is informal and mostly British, suggesting a brisk, talkative cheerfulness.