whish

1 of 2

verb

whished; whishing; whishes

transitive verb

: to urge on or cause to move with a whish

intransitive verb

1
: to make a sibilant sound
2
: to move with a whish especially at high speed
an elevator … whishes down to the lower levelNatalie Cooper

whish

2 of 2

noun

: a rushing sound : swish

Examples of whish in a Sentence

Verb seemingly out of nowhere, a baseball whished past my head the match whished as it burst into flame Noun the whish of tires on wet pavement
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Sound: Couple of quick snorts, followed by a long, loud exhale: Whish, whish, pheeeewwwwwt! Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 22 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Verb

1518, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

circa 1802, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whish was in 1518

Dictionary Entries Near whish

Cite this Entry

“Whish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whish. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

whish

verb
ˈhwish,
ˈwish
: to move with a whizzing or swishing sound
whish noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!