albatross

noun

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al·ba·tross | \ ˈal-bə-ˌtrȯs

, -ˌträs \

plural albatross or albatrosses

Definition of albatross

1 : any of a family (Diomedeidae) of large web-footed seabirds that have long slender wings, are excellent gliders, and include the largest seabirds

2a : something that causes persistent deep concern or anxiety

b : something that greatly hinders accomplishment : encumbrance Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal life.

3 chiefly British, golf : a score of three under par made on a hole : double eagle The first play-off at Augusta followed the most famous single stroke in Masters history, Sarazen's albatross, or double eagle as the Americans prefer to describe such accidents of fortune, at the 15th.— P. A. Ward-Thomas

Why is albatross used to refer to a burden? More Example Sentences Learn More About albatross

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Why is albatross used to refer to a burden?

The albatross is an exceedingly large seabird, having a wingspan as much as 11 feet across. It is a magnificent glider, capable of staying aloft for hours at a time without flapping its wings, and tends to remain almost entirely at sea, typically coming ashore only to breed.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the titular mariner kills an albatross that has been following his ship, bringing down a curse that leads to the death of all other crew members. As a punishment, the crew hang the dead bird from the mariner’s neck, and he remains alive to witness the ship’s fate unfold. This potent emblem led to the coining of a metaphorical meaning for albatross as something that causes anxiety or guilt or that burdens and encumbers.

Examples of albatross in a Sentence

Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal and happy life. Fame has become an albatross around her neck.

Recent Examples on the Web Then there are the social side effects, from the clearing out of impoverished communities in Rio de Janeiro and Beijing to the albatross of Olympic stadium projects and venues that go unused after the tournament and saddle their hosts with debt. — Washington Post, 23 July 2021 Crush has been within two 100ths of the record before and Luebbe called it almost like the albatross around her neck for a long time. — Phillip Steinmetz, The Courier-Journal, 25 Apr. 2021 Just a few million years before an asteroid killed nearly all dinosaurs on Earth, a creature resembling a small albatross with teeth flew through the Cretaceous skies. — Nala Rogers | Inside Science, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2021 But a lingering albatross remains: Staffing. Restaurant and bar owners across the board – mom-and-pop places, bars, fine-dining – are wrestling with a dearth of employees. — Marc Bona, cleveland, 15 July 2021 An increasingly vocal share of Arizona Republicans see the recount as an act of self-sabotage, creating an albatross for statewide candidates in the run-up to a pivotal election year. — Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2021 If Biden chooses not to run for a second term, Harris will be seen as the leading contender to replace him, and the immigration issue could become either a chance to showcase her accomplishments or an albatross. — Alexandra Jaffe, chicagotribune.com, 25 June 2021 This campaign had turned Gia’s studio into her albatross once before. — New York Times, 18 May 2021 The albatross stands to defend its egg, bill snapping. — Jake Buehler, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 July 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'albatross.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for albatross

earlier albitrosse, albetrosse "albatross, frigate bird," alteration (with the first syllables probably reshaped after Latin albus "white" and its derivatives) of alcatras, alcatrace "pelican, frigate bird," or of its source, 16th-century Italian alcatrazzo (borrowed from Spanish) or Spanish alcatraz "pelican" or Portuguese alcatraz "brown booby (Sula leucogaster), frigate bird," both borrowed from Arabic al-ġaṭṭās "diver, sea eagle," derivative from the base of the verb ġaṭṭa "to immerse, dip, plunge"; (sense 2) after the albatross in Samuel Taylor coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which the mariner kills and is then forced to wear around his neck as expiation for his crime; (sense 3) by analogy with birdie entry 1 and eagle entry 1 as names for golfing scores

Note: The reflection of Arabic ġ as c in Spanish rather than g has been explained as through influence of late medieval Spanish alcaduz "bucket of a waterwheel" (later arcaduz), the throat pouch of a pelican suggesting such a bucket.

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