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# purr

«purr» in Mova's school dictionary: **When a cat purrs, it makes a low, soft, rumbling sound in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (purr, purrs, purred, purring); noun (a purr, purrs)

### meaning for a pupil

1) When a cat purrs, it makes a low, soft, rumbling sound in its throat, usually when it is happy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#m1)

2) A purr is that sound. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#m2)

3) A machine such as an engine purrs when it makes a quiet, smooth humming sound. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories a purr tells the reader a cat is calm and content (though cats sometimes purr when hurt or scared too); for engines it means running smoothly. Phrases: «purr loudly», «a soft purr», «purr with pleasure».

### examples

- The kitten purred on my lap. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x1)
- I could feel the cat's purr when I stroked her. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x2)
- Our cat purrs whenever you scratch behind her ears. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x3)
- The new car's engine purred quietly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x4)
- Lions cannot purr, but they can roar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x5)
- She heard a gentle purr from under the blanket. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x6)
- The cat purred loudly and closed its eyes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x7)
- “Nay,” purred Bagheera, “that may not be. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/#x8)

### note

Double the r before -ed and -ing: purred, purring. Do not confuse with «per» or «pur-». A purring cat is usually happy, but a sick or frightened cat may purr too, so it is not a promise you can pick it up.

### In the corpora

- [Tigers greet each other with a friendly puffing sound called chuffing, and they cannot purr like a house cat.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/136-kung-fu-panda-real-tigers-and-cranes/9/)
- [Stroke a cat on your lap and you feel a low rumble through its body: the purr.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/197-cats-purring-whiskers-night-eyes-and-grooming/2/)
- [It usually means a happy cat, but cats also purr when they are hurt or frightened.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/197-cats-purring-whiskers-night-eyes-and-grooming/3/)
- [Today they curl up on our sofas and purr.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/294-cats-through-history-egypt-s-sacred-cats-ship-cats-and-tom-and-jerry/5/)
- [Therefore I'm mad." Alice says "I call it purring, not growling."](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/12-alice-ch6-part2-the-cheshire-cat/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «purr» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/purr/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.