Pronunciation guide

How to pronounce whistle

WISS-ul - two syllables; the 't' is silent

US/ˈwɪsəl/

səl

UK/ˈwɪsəl/

səl

New to IPA symbols? Read the IPA guide.

Common mistake

The 't' is silent - 'WISS-ul', not 'WHIST-ul'.

What “whistle” means

A device designed to be placed in the mouth and blown, or driven by steam or some other mechanism, to make a whistling sound.

An act of whistling.

In a sentence

  • Never whistle at a funeral.
  • The referee blew his whistle to stop play.

Say it out loud a few times, then check yourself.

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Definitions and examples are derived from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, then edited by QuickPronounce. Pronunciation data draws on CMUdict.