11 Good Onomatopoeia For Sirens

Sirens are loud, and as such, it would help to know some good words to describe them. Whether you’re talking about ambulance, police car, or fire truck sirens, the sounds can be shared. This article will explore some of the best choices for you.

Which Words Can Describe The Sound Of Sirens?

There are many great ways to use onomatopoeia when describing sirens. You should check out the following:

• Nee-naw
• Wee-woo
• Nee-nore
• Oogah-oogah
• Waahhh
• Wiiiouuu
• Wee-oww
• Wail
• Blare
• Blee
• Wee

The preferred version is “nee-naw.” It’s the most common form of onomatopoeia that people use when imitating the sound of all types of sirens. It also works regardless of where the siren comes from (since different vehicles produce slightly different sounds).

Nee-naw

“Nee-naw” is the best way to describe the sound of sirens. It works well because everyone is familiar with the “nee-naw” sound when someone replicates it. It is also the closest sound to the original siren.

The double “E” letters in “nee” are there to show that the siren has a high-pitched tone when it starts. The second “naw” shows that the tone lowers down and cycles between the two to alert everyone nearby that something has happened.

These examples should help you with it:

• Nee-naw! Nee-naw! The ambulances have all gathered around the accident now.
• Nee-naw! Can you see any of the damage ahead?
• Nee-naw! I knew the police cars would be here in a matter of minutes!

Wee-woo

“Wee-woo” is another popular onomatopoeia choice for sirens. It works well when someone is trying to show that the sirens are high-pitched and loud. Again, the double “E” letter choice works here to show that sirens are supposed to be higher in tone.

These examples might help you make more sense of it:

• Wee-woo! You can’t catch me! I’m already escaping, and you won’t know where I’m heading next.
• Wee-woo! Wee-woo! I could tell that the fire truck was somewhere nearby. However, I couldn’t see a fire, so I tried not to worry.
• Wee-woo! The police have already informed us that there is a criminal in the area. I had to be on the lookout for one!

Nee-nore

“Nee-nore” is an alternative spelling of “nee-naw.” It helps some people to spell it this way because “nore” is more in line with the sound that “naw” makes when people say it. Both forms are acceptable, and it’s up to you which one you prefer.

We will show you some examples of this alternative to see how it might look:

• Nee-nore! Nee-nore! The ambulances were barreling down the street. If they went any quicker, they might start causing accidents!
• Nee-nore! Nee-nore! The police are on their way. It’s only a matter of time before you’re brought to justice.
• Nee-nore! I love watching our children play make-believe when they make those silly little noises!

Oogah-oogah

“Oogah-oogah” is another interesting choice we can use for sirens. It works when the sirens have a distinct sound that they’re making. Often, this doesn’t refer to vehicular sirens but tends to lean more toward sirens that buildings might have (like alarms).

Here are some examples to help you with it:

• Oogah-oogah! The building was on fire, and the alarm was trying to tell us before anyone got into trouble.
• Oogah-oogah! Okay, you’ve all heard the siren now! It’s time to leave before we’re all trapped in here.
• Oogah-oogah! I didn’t know what the siren meant, but I definitely wasn’t going to be sticking around to find out!

Waahhh

“Waahhh” is another good example of how onomatopoeia works. We could include more “A’s” or “H’s,” depending on how we want to emphasize the sound of the siren. The “A’s” add to the pitch, while the “H’s” add to the length.

It might help you to see what we mean by looking at these examples:

• Waahhhhhhh! The sirens were approaching the junction, but I had this awful feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
• Waaaaaahhh! Someone called the ambulance! It’s about time that they arrived!
• Waahhhh! I needed to contact the police, but since they’re already here, I don’t think I’ll be needed any longer.

Wiiiouuu

“Wiiiouuu” is a great way to use vowels to your advantage in onomatopoeia. The combination of “I’s,” “O’s,” and “U’s” shows that the sirens make very loud, high-pitched squeals when they are on the move. This can be emphasized by including more letters.

Like many forms of onomatopoeia, the more letters we include, the louder or longer a sound will be. It’s useful to remember this fact, especially if you are using onomatopoeia alongside an artistic source (like a comic book), where the sound can be emphasized further.

These examples should help you make more sense of it:

• Wiiioouuuuuu! I couldn’t stand around worrying about where those sirens were heading for a moment longer.
• Wiiiouuuuu! The police cars have left the station, and they’re on the way to stop the criminals!
• Wiiiioouuuuuu! I knew that they’d be along soon enough, and it’s about time they made their way here!

Wee-oww

“Wee-oww” is another good way to describe the sound made from a siren. As before, we can include more vowels in this one (i.e., “weeeee-oooooww”) to show that the noise is drawn out and causing a lot of people to turn and look at it.

Here are some examples that might benefit you:

• Wee-oww! I could hear the fire trucks and the police cars coming this way. It must be quite the disaster they’re going toward.
• Weeeee-oooooww! I hated that sound growing up! Now, I couldn’t be more proud of the people who risk their lives for others.
• Weeee-ooooww! Oh dear, it sounds like something terrible might have happened up ahead! I hope everyone is okay!

Wail

“Wail” is a great word we can use to describe the loud, screeching sound of sirens. They are designed to be annoying and painful noises because that’s the best way to get someone’s attention. That’s why “wail” is an appropriate word to describe them.

Most sirens are used for good purposes. If you think about the vehicles that use them, you’ll think of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. When their sirens are going off, they are often en route to save someone’s life or prevent disaster.

However, that doesn’t stop many people from thinking that sirens are a nuisance. The noise is deliberately loud and off-putting. That’s why “wail” works well.

Here are some examples to help you:

• I hate the wailing that I hear from the police station every day. Once they start work, they jump in their cars and cause havoc!
• You need to listen to the wail on that siren! It’s by far the worst sound I’ve heard in my lifetime.
• That wail was unbearable! I didn’t even know how to handle it, and I don’t want to hear it again!

Blare

“Blare” is a good word that describes the loud noise that sirens make. We can say that a siren “blares” when it is moving down the road, and it is often enough to stop people in their tracks and turn to face the source of the loud noise.

Here are a few ways we can get this one to work:

• The blaring siren was almost too much for me to handle in the early hours of the morning.
• I could hear the blare of the police siren coming my way. I had to be careful what my next moves were.
• The sirens blared throughout the night. I couldn’t sleep, and I knew I needed to be up early the next morning, which made matters worse.

Blee

“Blee” works well to demonstrate the length or volume of a siren. We can add multiple “E” letters to the end of the word if we want to show that it’s lasted a lot longer than normal. It’s also a good way to show that you might be annoyed by the sound.

Check out these examples to see how you might use it:

• Bleeee! I hate the sirens when they hurtle down my road. Still, I suppose the police have a good reason for doing it.
• Bleee! I’m sure it’s far too early in the morning to have your sirens on full blast like that!
• I could hear the ambulance coming from a mile away! Bleeeeee! That noise was growing louder by the second!

Wee

As we’ve mentioned, “wee” is another good choice that allows for an alternating number of letters in it. If you want to emphasize the length or sound of the “wee” noise, we can add more “E’s” to the end of the word to show how annoying the siren is.

Check out these examples to help you understand it:

• Weeeeeee! The police car was hurtling down the road, but we couldn’t see any problems up ahead.
• Weeee! Weeeee! I heard the ambulance long before anybody else did, which is why so many people tooted at me in a fit of rage.
• Weeeeeee! I heard the sirens late in the night, but they were enough to keep me up and thinking for a long time!