brr

alternative br · alternative brrr

1. Used to express being cold, to show shivering.

   'Brrrrr,' said Lieutenant Dubosc, realizing to the full how cold he was.

   1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 1, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 7

   1 more example

   The teeth chattered faster, stopped, and began again twice before the man could master his shiver sufficiently to say, "Ju-ju-st in ti-ti-me....Brrrr."

   1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, page x. 83

2. An expression of disgust or aversion, as if shuddering.

   Brrr. Even the thought of going underground made Old Bailey shudder.

   1996, Neil Gaiman, chapter 8, in Neverwhere, London: Headline Review, published 2005

3. The ringing sound of a telephone or an alarm bell.

   Brr-brr, brr-brr. The phone rang insistently.

   1 more example

   “As we were talking at the front gate I heard a noise. It was a ‘Brrrrrr, Brrrrrr’ just like it sounds to you there as I make the noise.”

   1965, James Holledge, Flying Saucers Over Australia, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 57