whirr

Etymology

From Middle English whirren, probably from Old Norse: compare Danish hvirre, virre, Norwegian kvirre, Old Norse hvirfla (“to whirl, spread”).

verb

1. To move or vibrate (something) with a buzzing sound.
2. (intransitive) To make a sibilant buzzing or droning sound.
   In a city where media companies and hospitals have armed guards, this accessibility is unusual. Inside, drivers sit and chat in between shifts, the overhead fan whirring and causing the dim electric light to flicker over their faces. April 6, 2017, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian
3. (transitive) To cause (something) to make such a sound.

noun

1. A sibilant buzz or vibration; the sound of something in rapid motion.
   At that moment a flight of birds passed close overhead, and at the whirr of their wings a panic fear seized her. 1978, Lawrence Durrell, “Lord Galen’s Farewell”, in Livia: Or Buried Alive[…] (The Avignon Quintet; 2), London, Boston, Mass.: Faber and Faber, page 239
   Then the exploding whirr of wings in the wind — a mixed covey of bobwhites and scalies. 2007, Jeffrey Engel, Sherol Engel, & James A. Swan, Chasing The Hunter's Dream: 1,001 of the World's Best Duck Marshes, Deer Runs, Elk Meadows, Pheasant Fields, Bear Woods, Safaris, and Extraordinary Hunts, HarperCollins, published 2007, page 212
2. A bustle of noise and excitement.