noun
siren
SEYE-uh-ruhn
noun
1
A device that produces a loud, piercing warning sound, or the sound itself.
"The ambulance siren wailed as it raced through traffic."
2
A dangerously alluring woman, from the mythological creatures said to lure sailors to their doom with song.
"In the film, she plays a siren who lures the sailors to shore."
How to Use Siren
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a loud alarm sound, or (from myth) a seductive, dangerous woman.
Common pairings
siren wailed
siren song
police siren
Word Forms
sirened past tense, sirens plural, sirenes plural, sirens singular
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Etymology
From Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn), the mythological sea nymphs whose singing lured sailors to shipwreck, via Old French and Latin.