1. To make the characteristic neighing or whinnying cry of a horse.
2. A neighing or whinnying sound made by a horse.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- whicker at the gate
- a whickering horse
- whicker softly
On the page
The mare whickered when she heard the familiar rattle of the feed bucket.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- whicker
- Past tense
- whickered
- Past participle
- whickered
- Present participle
- whickering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- whicker
- Present continuous
- am/is/are whickering
- Present perfect
- have/has whickered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been whickering
- Past
- whickered
- Past continuous
- was/were whickering
- Past perfect
- had whickered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been whickering
- Future
- will whicker
- Future continuous
- will be whickering
- Future perfect
- will have whickered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been whickering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: poetic / figurative / atmospheric. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: whicker; whickers; whickered; whickered; whickering. Noun singular whicker; plural whickers. Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: MW confirms equine verb and noun; Collins corroborates horse cry. Retrieved evidence does not support obligatory softness, so intensity is left blank. Writing functions: atmospheric description, sensory precision. Third-person singular: whickers.
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