si ‧ ren /ˈsaɪərən $ ˈsaɪr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: sereine , from Latin siren , from Greek seiren ; ]
[ Sense 1: Language: French ; Origin: sirène , from Old French sereine ]
1 . a piece of equipment that makes very loud warning sounds, used on police cars, fire engines etc:
the wail of the ambulance sirens
I heard police sirens in the distance.
2 . siren voices/song/call literary encouragement to do something that seems very good, especially when this could have bad results:
siren voices calling for the sale of weapons to the region
3 . a woman who is very attractive but also dangerous to men – used especially in newspapers:
a Hollywood siren
4 . the Sirens a group of women in ancient Greek stories, whose beautiful singing made sailors sail towards them into dangerous water