How to Use purr in a Sentence

purr

1 of 2 noun
  • Lay your thumb on the maple lid, and the purr turns into a whine.
    M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 7 Feb. 2023
  • For the cat people in your lives, this book is purr-fect.
    Karen Cicero, Good Housekeeping, 20 Oct. 2022
  • The cat bats its lovely eyes and purrs loudly and cocks its head.
    Joyce Wadler, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2017
  • But her whiskers are forward, her coat is shiny, and her purr is loud.
    Bethany Brookshire, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2021
  • For those who love cats -- and for that matter, wine -- Sip & Purr could be the purr-fect way to spend a day.
    Sarah Hauer, USA TODAY, 16 May 2018
  • Machine minds have no need for bundles of fur to purr in their laps.
    Kc Cole, WIRED, 14 July 2023
  • Listen to the purr and feel its vibrations in your lap.
    David Gelles, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2016
  • Here are a variety of gifts to make cats - and their owners - purr with joy.
    Lois Alter Mark, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
  • See below for some adorable kitties who are striving for purr-fect skin, just like you and me-ow.
    Allure, 2 Nov. 2017
  • The sound of church bells and the clatter of feet on cobblestones, even the foreign purr of a diesel engine, calm your synapses.
    Alex Postman, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2017
  • With the wag of a tail or the soothing sounds of a purr, a rescue pet comes into our lives and steals our hearts forever.
    Amanda Klarsfeld, sun-sentinel.com, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Mangini layered a cat purr over the ornithopter, with tent straps and beetle wings flapping in the wind.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 13 Mar. 2022
  • Snow leopards jump 50 feet in one pounce, have massively bushy tails and purr but don’t roar.
    Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Late on a Wednesday night, its steady purr turned to a hard metallic staccato like the grinding gears of a car.
    Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2021
  • Their cat might welcome them with loud purrs and excited floor rolls.
    Alisa Bowman, Discover Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023
  • The symphony of sounds — a roar, a purr, a putter — each engine creates.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Ed Sheeran found the purr-fect way to celebrate his Grammy wins.
    Maria Pasquini, PEOPLE.com, 29 Jan. 2018
  • All the players are claw-fully purr-ty on the Kitten Bowl, which is Sunday at 2 p.m. on Hallmark.
    Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Feb. 2021
  • There wasn't much of even a purr of the motor to be heard in our testing, and the leg stability means your items won't shift while in motion.
    Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 14 Apr. 2022
  • Buddy is part of a movement, a collective purr from cats all over the world who want more out of life than a warm lap and a broken shoelace.
    Atlanta Life, ajc, 25 Mar. 2018
  • In the clip, Rozi slowly walks toward the camera before stumbling and giving a soft purr.
    Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 6 June 2022
  • Here's hoping that this special friend finds the purr-fect family.
    Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, 17 Aug. 2018
  • Maya likes to have her beautiful dense coat brushed and will offer up a soft purr of contentment.
    Arizona Republic, azcentral, 22 June 2018
  • No one talks like him — all those offbeat cadences, delivered in a purr.
    David Marchesephoto Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Most species of wildcats can purr, including the cheetah.
    Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2018
  • Then there's the endless itty-bitty purrs, the snuggles and the teeny meows to enjoy.
    Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com, 1 June 2018
  • Chirrup: sounds like a mix between a meow and a purr and is a greeting often used by a mother cat to call her kittens.
    Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 July 2022
  • In the videos below, Johnston breaks down how to use a turkey mouth call, including how to yelp, cluck and purr, cutt, and even gobble.
    Dave Hurteau, Field & Stream, 20 Feb. 2023
  • Hit the red ignition button and the engine fires with a deep growl and then settles into a rumbling purr.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2019
  • The constant purr of good news has yielded a hashtag, #Euroboom.
    The Economist, 14 Dec. 2017
Advertisement

purr

2 of 2 verb
  • The cars were purring along the highway.
  • The cat was purring contentedly in my lap.
  • And so, as promised, here is a full half-hour of Jeff Goldblum purring.
    Dana Schwartz, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2018
  • But tourists around Milan found a city that seemed to be less than purring.
    Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2020
  • A man of South Asian appearance purrs past in a white Rolls Royce.
    Washington Post, 24 May 2017
  • Once the car is purring again, Holthoff says to continue driving it long enough to make up for the cost of the repairs.
    cleveland.com, 5 May 2018
  • No matter what the weather is, the last weekend of this month promises to be purr-fect.
    John Delapp, Houston Chronicle, 3 Jan. 2020
  • Her 11-year-old tabby, Josie, jumped up next to her, purring gently.
    Antonia Farzan, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2019
  • Monday through Friday, the cat could be a calm, purring delight.
    Matthew Martinez, star-telegram.com, 20 June 2017
  • But for the last 50 years or so, scientists thought purring did not occur this way.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
  • But the consensus is that the economy will keep purring along.
    Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2018
  • Evan will eventually plop on top of me, and start purring.
    Josh Ocampo, New York Times, 28 May 2023
  • Purring jaguars prowled about our tents at night along with other unseen beasts.
    Douglas Preston, The New Yorker, 1 Jan. 2017
  • In the South, the house cats purr a little bit slower and answer to charming Southern names.
    Zoë Gowen, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2016
  • The authors of the new study suggest that purring instead results from the laryngeal pads of cats.
    Jorge Garay, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2023
  • Tracy Pew’s basslines were raw—purring and pranging in equal measure.
    Daniel Dylan Wray, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2023
  • So do the markets think the economic engine is purring along nicely or about to stall?
    James MacKintosh, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2017
  • Josie purred, opened her eyes briefly, snuggled closer.
    Antonia Farzan, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2019
  • For most of that first day home, his cat sat in his lap, purring and looking up at him in total adoration.
    Lindsey Vehlewald, SELF, 9 Nov. 2018
  • Detective now sleeps next to my chest or behind Jan’s legs, purring throughout the night.
    Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 6 Sep. 2023
  • First, capture a video of your sleepy kitten purring, or snap a shot of your crazy cat doing aerial stunts.
    Kelly O'Sullivan, Country Living, 19 July 2019
  • The men handed over the grease gun, and within minutes Belle was purring quietly again.
    Katherine Rosman Lanna Apisukh, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Also there’s Shohreh Aghdashloo purring her way through the cardboard part of the mob matriarch.
    Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Their other cat, Josie, tried to apologize for Taco by winding her way around my legs and purring.
    Molly Guthrey, Twin Cities, 26 Mar. 2017
  • For now, though, Britain’s jobs machine continues to purr.
    The Economist, 7 Oct. 2017
  • Medicine can be a family meal, a call to an old friend, a purring cat, an unplugged afternoon, a good book.
    Francesca Serritella, Philly.com, 19 Jan. 2018
  • Although worming the cord through the two small holes took a while, the little red machine was purring with its new rope within seconds.
    Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, 8 June 2017
  • Some researchers have claimed that the vibrations from purring might help heal bone damage in an injured cat.
    Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2018
  • The Cuban slugger is just one purring component of a machine that has the Dodgers on the brink of an even bigger celebration.
    USA TODAY, 8 Oct. 2017
  • Hathaway plays this all as a brilliant satire, purring in front of the cameras while waving her hand dismissively at the help.
    Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 8 June 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purr.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: