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Glite Dictionary
to give a whistle

to give a whistle

1 4.2
Make a short high sound with lips or a small device to get attention
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɪv ə ˈwɪsəl/
translation icon : silbar
  • I gave a whistle and three hundred cries to you, and I found nothing there but a bleating lamb.

Examples

  • Give a whistle ♪ ♪

    Life of Brian (1979)

  • "He gave a whistle and then broke into song."

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Don't grumble, give a whistle.

    Blog text (28)

  • Artoo beeped affirmatively and gave a whistle that could only be a question.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • "Brenna gave a whistle to catch her father's attention, then mimed spooning up food."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • During the game, the coach gave a whistle to signal the end of practice.

  • She gave a whistle to call her dog back from the park.

  • To get attention, he gave a whistle that could be heard across the field.

Synonyms

to whistle
vsto give a whistle
91 1.6

To make a high sound by blowing air through your lips or a small device

is mainly used to attract attention rather than to play music
to toot
vsto give a whistle
7 3.3

To make a short sharp sound with a horn or whistle

is a blowing sound often longer or melodic rather than brief and sharp

Antonyms

to silence
169 3.5

To stop someone from speaking or making noise

How Loud

to scream
∞ 1.0
to shout
644 1.0
to give a whistle
1 4.2
to mutter
140 3.7

Surface Forms

give a whistle infinitive
gave a whistle past
given a whistle past participle
giving a whistle present participle
gives a whistle third person singular

Morphology

give + a + whistle

The meaning 'to produce a whistling sound' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'give' (produce) with 'a whistle' (a whistling sound); the article 'a' is just a grammatical element. This compositional pattern (give + noun to mean produce a particular sound/action) is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase give a whistle comes from the simple action of making a short whistling sound. When someone gives a whistle, with their lips or a small whistle, they make a clear noise to get people's attention or to give a signal, so it means 'to attract attention' or 'to signal'.