n.
- One that whistles: a whistler of popular tunes.
- A marmot (Marmota caligata) of the mountains of northwest North America, having a grayish coat and a shrill, whistling cry.
- Any of various birds that produce a whistling sound.
- A horse having a respiratory disease characterized by wheezing.
- Physics. An electromagnetic wave of audio frequency produced by atmospheric disturbances such as lightning, having a characteristically decreasing frequency responsible for a whistling sound of descending pitch in detection equipment.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
