0 a loud, high sound, especially that of bagpipes (= a musical instrument, popular in Scotland, played by blowing air into a bag and pressing it out through pipes):
1 (especially of bagpipes) to make a loud, high sound:
He made some of his own soldiers put on kilts and march to the skirl of pipes.
You can virtually hear the whine of the wind strafing his cheeks and imagine the thin reedy skirl of his instrument.
The hammer and a kilt race will allow the ears of the spectators a break from the skirl.
There was a scattering of applause as the singer began and the bagpipes skirled.
There's an earthiness to this skirling and buoyant folk music.
