Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

American woodcock

noun

Definition of American woodcock 

: woodcock sense 1a(2) The slowest bird: the American woodcock, which averages about 5 mph in the air.— Mark Wexler, National Wildlife, December–January 1986

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 woodcock

1810, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about American woodcock

Share American woodcock

Statistics for American woodcock

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for American woodcock

The first known use of American woodcock was in 1810

See more words from the same year

Comments on American woodcock

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

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

henchman

a trusted follower

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Difficult Vocab Quiz

  • the-education-of-achilles-eugne-delacroix
  • Which is a synonym of discomfit?
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