Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

whippoorwill

/ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.74 in modern English

Syllables: whip-poor-will
IPA: /ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/

25

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.

noun

The distinctive call of the above bird.

Example Sentences

"“Seems like I heard a whippoorwill callinʼ, and I thought to myself, Go on away from here, weʼll whip ole Will when we find him.”"
"The bird sang his whippoorwills all night."
"From across the road a bird sang 'Whippoorwill, whippoorwill!'"
"Somewhere in the darkness a few cold-sounding frogs lamented the lost summer, and the bird which the Chippewa called muck-a-wiss sang whippoorwill."
"For I'm sure 'tis a bird that now sings 'Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, whippoorwill, whippoorwill, whippoorwill!'"

Etymology

Imitative of its note.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/
British English: /ˈwɪp.əˌwɪl/

Inflected Forms

whippoorwills (plural) whip-poor-will (alternative) whippowill (alternative) whip-o-will (alternative) whip-o'-will (alternative)

Phrases

eastern whippoorwill Mexican whippoorwill chuck-will's-widow

Frequently Paired Words

chuck-will's-widow nightjar

Synonyms

caprimulgus vociferus

Questions

How do you pronounce whippoorwill?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/.
What does whippoorwill mean?: A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.
Where does whippoorwill come from?: Imitative of its note.

How to pronounce whippoorwill

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “whippoorwill”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “whippoorwill”.
Repeat and practice — Say “whippoorwill” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.