Caroline Knapp

There is a particular whir of agitation about female hunger, a low-level thrumming of shoulds and shouldn'ts and can'ts and wants that can be so chronic and familiar it becomes a kind of feminine Muzak, easy to dismiss, or to tune out altogether, even if you're actively participating in it.

American Writer

Use 'whir' when describing machines or parts like fans or engines moving.

Machinery Motion

'Whir' suggests rapid movement, often used for objects spinning or working quickly.

Speed Implication

The sound described by 'whir' is low and continuous, not loud or sharp.

Low Sound

As a noun, 'whir' is often used to indicate some part is in motion inside a machine.

Indicate Motion

The noun 'whir' helps create an atmospheric detail in descriptions.

Atmosphere Creator

Use 'whir' to depict environments filled with machines, like factories or workshops.

Mechanical Environment

 If the two black holes are non-spinning, you get a very simple whoop! If the two bodies are spinning very rapidly, I have that same chirp, but with a modulation on top of it, so it kind of whir, whir, whir! It's sort of the vocabulary of spin imprinted on this waveform.

What the discovery of...

 those crunchy noises they are the sounds recorded by a microphone aboard perseverance picking up the whir of the rover's thermal system as it hurtles through deep space