Illustration of California condor
California condor
noun
Cal·i·for·nia condor
ˌka-lə-ˈfȯr-nyə- 
: a large nearly extinct vulture (Gymnogyps californianus) found most recently in the mountains of southern California that is related to the condor of South America
Examples of California condor in a Sentence
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Hiking the craggy landscape of Pinnacles National Park, forged by volcanic eruptions so long ago, might leave one as famished as a California condor — which indeed call these badlands home.
—
John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
An endangered California condor appears to have laid the species' first egg in the northern California redwoods in more than a century, reported Debra Utacia Krol at the Arizona Republic.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 6 Mar. 2026
California condors, or prey-go-neesh in Yurok, have been spiritually tied to the Yurok Hlkelonah, the 6,500-member tribe's cultural and ecological landscape, since time immemorial.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 5 Mar. 2026
The Nez Perce Tribe received a $500,000 grant from the Colossal Foundation to reintroduce California condors to Hells Canyon on the Idaho-Oregon border.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 12 Dec. 2025
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John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
An endangered California condor appears to have laid the species' first egg in the northern California redwoods in more than a century, reported Debra Utacia Krol at the Arizona Republic.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 6 Mar. 2026
California condors, or prey-go-neesh in Yurok, have been spiritually tied to the Yurok Hlkelonah, the 6,500-member tribe's cultural and ecological landscape, since time immemorial.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 5 Mar. 2026
The Nez Perce Tribe received a $500,000 grant from the Colossal Foundation to reintroduce California condors to Hells Canyon on the Idaho-Oregon border.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for California condor
Cite this Entry
“California condor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/California%20condor. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
California condor
noun
Cal·i·for·nia condor
ˌkal-ə-ˌfȯr-nyə-
: a very large nearly extinct vulture of mountainous southern California that is related to the condor of South America
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