Short, sharp, repetitive chirping sounds made by insects or birds, or to make such sounds.
From Middle English chirp, likely imitative in origin, representing the actual sound of birds and insects. The -up suffix may have been added for emphasis or variety. The word has remained largely unchanged since medieval times.
The word chirrup is onomatopoeia—it literally sounds like what it describes! Crickets produce their chirruping sounds by rubbing their wings together hundreds of times per second, which is why the word has become so iconic for describing insect sounds across multiple languages.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.