I. whis ‧ tle 1 /ˈwɪs ə l/ BrE AmE verb
1 . HIGH SOUND [intransitive and transitive] to make a high or musical sound by blowing air out through your lips:
Adam whistled happily on his way to work.
I heard this song on the radio and I’ve been whistling it all day.
He whistled a tune as he strolled down the corridor.
whistle to somebody (=whistle to get someone’s attention)
Dad whistled to us to come home for dinner.
whistle at somebody (=whistle to let someone know that you think they are attractive)
Men are always whistling at Heidi on the street.
2 . USE A WHISTLE [intransitive] to make a high sound by blowing into a whistle:
The referee whistled and the game began.
3 . GO/MOVE FAST [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to move quickly, making a whistling sound:
Bullets and shells were whistling overhead.
They listened to the wind whistling through the trees.
4 . STEAM TRAIN/KETTLE [intransitive] if a steam train or ↑ kettle whistles, it makes a high sound when air or steam is forced through a small hole
5 . BIRD [intransitive] if a bird whistles, it makes a high musical sound
6 . be whistling in the dark informal to be trying to show that you are brave when you are afraid, or that you know about something when you do not:
Does he know what he’s talking about or is he just whistling in the dark?
7 . somebody can whistle for something British English spoken used to tell someone that there is no chance of them getting what they have asked for
II. whistle 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hwistle ]
1 . a small object that produces a high whistling sound when you blow into it:
The lifeguard blew his whistle.
2 . a high sound made by blowing a whistle, by blowing air out through your lips, or when air or steam is forced through a small opening:
Larsson scored just minutes before the final whistle.
low/shrill/high-pitched etc whistle
Sanders gave a low whistle when he saw the contents of the box.
3 . a piece of equipment on a train or boat that makes a high noise when air is forced through it
4 . the sound of something moving quickly through the air
whistle of
We could hear the whistle of the jets as they passed overhead.
⇨ blow the whistle on something at ↑ blow 1 (17), ⇨ clean as a whistle at ↑ clean 1 (1), ⇨ ↑ penny whistle , ↑ wolf whistle