Trill
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it as an ornament; in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff.
- 2 a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it wordnet
- 3 A type of consonantal sound that is produced by vibrations of the tongue against the place of articulation: for example, Spanish ⟨rr⟩, /r/.
- 4 the articulation of a consonant (especially the consonant ‘r’) with a rapid flutter of the tongue against the palate or uvula wordnet
- 5 A tremulous high-pitched vocal sound produced by cats.
- 1 To create a trill sound; to utter trills or a trill; to play or sing in tremulous vibrations of sound; to have a trembling sound; to quaver. intransitive
"To judge of trilling notes and tripping feet."
- 2 To trickle. intransitive, obsolete
"I come now from seeing of a shepheard at Medoc[…]who had no signe at all of genitorie parts: But where they should be, are three little holes, by which his water doth continually tril from him."
- 3 To twirl. intransitive, obsolete
- 4 sing or play with trills, alternating with the half note above or below wordnet
- 5 To impart the quality of a trill to; to utter as, or with, a trill. transitive
"to trill a note, or the letter r"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 pronounce with a trill, of the phoneme /r/ wordnet
- 1 True, respected. slang
"All my trill niggas know who be bringin da funk / Lees and shell toes like it's Black History Month"
Example
More examples"Tim produced a perfect alveolar trill for a straight minute. The rest of the Spanish class envied and despised this vulgar display of power."
Etymology
From Middle English trillen, from Italian trillo, trillare. Compare German trillern, Norwegian trille, Swedish trilla.
Perhaps identical to Etymology 3, but compare the same sense of drill, and German trillen, drillen.
Probably related to Old English þweran (“to twirl, stir”). Compare twirl, thirl, and Swedish trilla, Norwegian trille, etc.
Perhaps a blend of true + real, or from keep it real, exhibiting the fill–feel merger.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.