whispers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of whisper.

   Nervous whispers passed between the jurors before the verdict was read.

   Only soft whispers broke the silence of the library reading room.

   Note

   The plural carries a meaning the singular rarely does: when whisper means a rumor, it normally appears in the plural, as in whispers of a takeover. Otherwise it simply counts acts of hushed speech or soft rustling sounds. The same spelling is also the verb's he-she-it form, so in whispers spread the word is a noun followed by a verb, while in she whispers it is the verb itself.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of whisper.

   The narrator whispers a warning just before the scene ends.

   A breeze whispers through the tall grass at the edge of the field.

   Note

   A verb form that works with or without an object: she whispers, she whispers a name, she whispers it to a friend. When the subject is a thing rather than a person, the word shifts to sound, as with wind in the grass. An older use, now obsolete, made the listener the direct object, so he whispers her meant he spoke to her softly. Modern English needs to before the listener.

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