From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwhirrwhirr, whir /wɜː $ wɜːr/ verb (whirred, whirring) [intransitive] CSOUNDto make a fairly quiet regular sound, like the sound of a bird or insect moving its wings very fast Helicopters whirred overhead. —whirr noun [countable usually singular] the whirr of an electric motor→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
whirr• Moments later as the Monsignor began to pass out the diplomas, flashbulbs popped and a few home movie cameras whirred.• Three large bronzed fans whirred above in the smoky air.• The machine shop left hundreds of thousands of men with shared memories: The whirring and flapping of the belts.• The video recorder whirred and rewound.• The hard drive whirred as I copied the files.• The pesticides treadmill is still whirring away.• The struts of the bridge whirred by, dripping.• Already the plane's propellers were whirring into action.• They can speak, via a whirring mechanical voice box, and they have mechanical human hands rather than paws.• The whirring of our locust jaws is what keeps you awake.• Once Blanche saw his hands whirring over each other, she knew there was some hope.Origin whirr (1300-1400) Probably from a Scandinavian language 