honeyeater

noun

hon·​ey·​eat·​er ˈhə-nē-ˌē-tər How to pronounce honeyeater (audio)
: any of a family (Meliphagidae) of oscine birds chiefly of the South Pacific that have a long extensible tongue adapted for extracting nectar and small insects from flowers

Examples of honeyeater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Expedition Cyclops also rediscovered Mayr’s honeyeater, a species of bird not seen for 15 years. Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023 These feeders attracts nectarivores, like the hummingbird, sunbird, and honeyeater. Kristen (kj) Callihan, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Mar. 2023 Widespread habitat loss has seen the Regent honeyeater population decline below 400, and those individuals are scattered sparsely across the remaining 300,000km2 of their habitat. The Economist, 17 Mar. 2021 For example, although it is derived from a mountain range, the species name of Vosea whitemanensis (a gray-and-olive honeyeater endemic to the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea) now appears rather questionable. Kate Evans, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2020 Several Kangaroo Island species, including the Kangaroo Island crimson rosella and Kangaroo Island white-eared honeyeater, are among birds being assessed for an endangered listing. Lisa Cox, Wired, 3 Oct. 2020 But the specific types of rare gum tree blossoms that the honeyeaters prefer to feed on, and nest near, could be in short supply. John Pickrell, Science | AAAS, 17 Dec. 2019 Hummingbirds were the most common target, but mantises also went after warblers, sunbirds, honeyeaters, flycatchers, vireos and European robins. Natalie Angier, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'honeyeater.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of honeyeater was in 1821

Dictionary Entries Near honeyeater

Cite this Entry

“Honeyeater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honeyeater. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on honeyeater

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!