dunlin

noun

dun·​lin ˈdən-lən How to pronounce dunlin (audio)
plural dunlins or dunlin
: a small widely distributed sandpiper (Calidris alpina) that in breeding plumage is largely cinnamon to rusty brown above and white below with a large black patch on the belly

Examples of dunlin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Great blue herons, green herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, dunlins, sanderlings and other sorts of shorebirds abound, making for great photography, as well. USA Today, 11 June 2025 Watch dunlins, piping plovers, herons, osprey, and even bald eagles make the mangroves and coastal pines their warm-weather home. Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2025 But by the time an hour had gone by, Barlow had captured this photograph of a dunlin taking flight with little time to spare before the wave hit the shore. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023 Single sandhill cranes in Northampton and Hadley, an upland sandpiper and a dunlin in Northampton, and an American bittern in the marsh on Flat Iron Road in Cummington. Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

dun entry 1 + -lin (alteration of -ling)

First Known Use

circa 1532, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dunlin was circa 1532

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Cite this Entry

“Dunlin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dunlin. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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