birl
1 of 2verb (1)
ˈbər(-ə)l 
Scotland also ˈbir(-ə)l
birled; birling; birls
intransitive verb
chiefly Scotland
: carouse
birl
2 of 2verb (2)
birled; birling; birls
transitive verb
1
: spin
2
: to cause (a floating log) to rotate by treading
intransitive verb
: to progress by whirling
birler
ˈbər-lər ˈbir-
noun ˈbir- 
Synonyms
Verb (1)
- binge
- carouse
- revel
- roister
- wassail
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Verb
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 Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English, from Old English byrelian; probably akin to Old English beran to carry — more at bear
Verb (2)
perhaps imitative
First Known Use
Verb (1)
circa 1585, in the meaning defined above
Verb (2)
1724, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
birled
verb
as in wassailed
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
Relevance
- wassailed
- roistered
- drank
- reveled
- caroused
- binged
- soaked
- revelled
- tippled
- boozed
- liquored (up)
- guzzled
- homologiser
- homologisers
- homologises
- homologising
- homologize
- homologized
- homologizer
- homologizers
- homologizes
- homologizing
- homologoumena
- homologous
- homologous graft
- homologous stimulus
- homologous theory
- homologous twin
- homolographic
- homolographic projection
- homologs
- homologue
- homologues
- homologumena
- homology
- homolosine projection
- homolyses