chiefly Scottish
as in to drink
to take part in drunken revelry spent a good part of his time in Edinburgh birling into the wee small hours of the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of birl There was sea salt in the air, and sleepless seagulls were birling in the darkness overhead. Douglas Stuart, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2020 Another, unable to reach dry land, dug his spiked boots into a slippery timber and birled downriver. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 16 Feb. 2019 In some parts of the United States, birling contests are annual events. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 16 Feb. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birl
Verb
  • Being around alcohol can elicit cravings, so try to minimize that desire to drink as much as possible.
    Malaka Gharib, NPR, 28 Dec. 2024
  • The locals tend to drink radlers and Trentino Lagrein red wines, often with a cheese-and-meat board.
    Toby Skinner, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • From there, a series of scenes — a late-night house party full of adults drinking and carousing, a cascade of tinsel falling off a Christmas tree, a playground fail — replicate a you-are-there feeling as a preadolescent named Elwood Curtis navigates the agonies and ecstasies of boyhood.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Serving guests, some of them still carousing from the previous evening out, was never enough.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 19 July 2024
Verb
  • But historically Black colleges and universities have reason to revel, as some have seen record increases.
    Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Long after the stadium had cleared out, her fans could still be heard reveling outside on the concourse.
    Zack Pierce, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
Verb
  • Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
    Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2024
  • With the series having five mainline games and many spinoffs, there's one question that fans have been asking after binging the 8-episode series - is the Fallout TV show canon?
    Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
    BHG Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
  • Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
    Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018

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Cite this Entry

“Birl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birl. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

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