warble
/ˈwɔɹbl̩/verb, noun
warble is spelled W-A-R-B-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, warble means “To modulate a tone's frequency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in warble?
| Letters | 6: W-A-R-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 86,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is warble?
Warble appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce warble?
- US /ˈwɔɹbl̩/
- UK /ˈwɔːbl̩/
Warble has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-warble.ogg, En-au-warble.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of warble
- warbles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- warbling participle, present
- warbled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does warble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To modulate a tone's frequency.
- 2
To sing like a bird, especially with trills.
- 3
To cause to quaver or vibrate.
- 4
To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously.
noun
- 1
The sound of one who warbles; singing with trills or modulations.
- 2
In naval mine warfare, the process of varying the frequency of sound produced by a narrowband noisemaker to ensure that the frequency to which the mine will respond is covered.
- 3
A lesion under the skin of cattle, caused by the larva of a bot fly of genus Hypoderma.
- 4
A small hard swelling on a horse's back, caused by the galling of the saddle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Warble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does warble come from?
Perhaps onomatopoeic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).