to trill
2
7.2
- verb
- /trɪl/
- Specialized
:
trinar
- As she practiced her scales, the violinist trilled effortlessly between the notes.
- birds trill
- sing and trill
Examples
-
One of us coaxed the ivory keys of the pianoforte while another trilled an aria of controlled shrieks, white knuckles clenched on satin breast.
Fiction book (1993) -
Olivia was putting petunias into red clay pots, tamping down the dirt while she trilled, "I-i-i-t's summertime!"
Fiction book (1995) -
On the record, they will sing in Spanish, a woman trilling in the background.
Fiction book (2001) -
The trees were in the same place, and the birds trilled the same songs known since the beginning of time.
Fiction book (1995) -
The crickets trilled in the field, and far down in the valley, she heard the brook.
Fiction book (2001) -
In the flame tree that rose above the gazebo to the left, a bird trilled a long series of notes.
Fiction book (1992) -
From off in the distance came the long, trilling wail of one of Dagobah's birds.
Fiction book (1991) -
A meadowlark trilled from the brush on the side of a path I'd reached at the hilltop.
Fiction book (1995) -
In the swaying willow outside the starlit window, a nightingale trilled.
Fiction book (1992) -
Fiddler Mans Persson Lundman brought his violin and began to trill.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
7
7.8
To sing or play musical notes that move up and down quickly
How Complex
Surface Forms
Etymology
Trill comes from an old imitation of a bird's rapid song, so to trill on an instrument is to make a fast back-and-forth or 'vibration' between two nearby notes, like a bird singing.