Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

American avocet

noun

Definition of American avocet 

: an avocet (Recurvirostra americana) of North America that has black-and-white stripes on the back and wings, white underparts, and light blue legs American avocets forage in shallow water with graceful sweeps of upturned bills.— Chris Dietel, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 July 1990

— called also bluestocking

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

  • More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
  • Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
  • Advanced search features
  • Ad free!

First Known Use of American avocet

1785, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about American avocet

Share American avocet

Statistics for American avocet

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for American avocet

The first known use of American avocet was in 1785

See more words from the same year

Comments on American avocet

What made you want to look up American avocet? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

tomfoolery

playful or foolish behavior

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Autumn Words of the Day 2018

  • a-top-down-image-of-road-through-an-autumn-forest
  • Which is a synonym of fugacious?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games