aviary

noun

avi·​ary ˈā-vē-ˌer-ē How to pronounce aviary (audio)
-ˌe-rē
plural aviaries
: a place for keeping birds confined

Examples of aviary in a Sentence

The zoo has a new outdoor aviary.
Recent Examples on the Web The hotel, situated in a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains, offers round-the-clock movie screenings, a collection of props and memorabilia in each room, and for lovers of The Birds, an aviary with fifty crows. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Feb. 2024 The aviaries are placed near enough to one another on the preserve that the burrowing owls can hear each other vocalize. Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024 Once, during a renovation, zookeepers had to move the macaws into a different aviary. Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2023 Most visitors come for Butterfly World, home to a tropical rainforest, brilliant botanical gardens and aviaries teeming with live butterflies and wild birds. Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Nagging questions about fiscal realities aside, the setting, with its natural surroundings and outdoor aviaries, feeders and fountains, is a kind of spa retreat for hummingbirds. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2024 The ten captive vultures were perched on a tree branch in the aviary. Meera Subramanian, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2024 Some of the birds, including a pair of toucans, which can be worth thousands of dollars each, escaped from the aviary in August or September when their habitat was being remodeled. Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2023 As well as offering its very own aviary, the hotel is a mere 15-minute walk from the city’s Hortus Botanicus, one of the world’s oldest botanical gardens. Liam Hess, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Latin aviarium, from avis bird; akin to Greek aetos eagle

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of aviary was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near aviary

Cite this Entry

“Aviary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aviary. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

aviary

noun
avi·​ary ˈā-vē-ˌer-ē How to pronounce aviary (audio)
plural aviaries
: a place (as a large cage or a building) where many live birds are kept usually for exhibition
Etymology

from Latin aviarium "place to keep birds," from avis "bird"

More from Merriam-Webster on aviary

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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