bulbul

noun

bul·​bul ˈbu̇l-ˌbu̇l How to pronounce bulbul (audio)
1
: a songbird frequently mentioned in Persian poetry that is probably a nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
2
: any of a group of gregarious passerine birds (family Pycnonotidae) of Asia and Africa

Examples of bulbul in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Beyond the huge gym windows, Maharashtra is waking to another green-gold morning of bulbul birdsong and mooching mongooses. Horatio Clare, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 June 2026 Today, those invaders have been cleared, and more than 100,000 native saplings have grown into a lush forest cover that’s now home to sunbirds, bulbuls, geckos and chameleons. Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 30 Sep. 2025 Babita Bhatia had left the house with her bulbul nose pointed sharply to the right, as Uncle Ravi, exiting his door, turned his squat nose to the left. Kiran Desai, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025 At a temple on the outskirts of the state capital, the bulbuls — songbirds about the size of a bluejay — fluttered up in the air and swooped down on their opponents, their owners holding a string tied around their legs. Anupam Nath, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024 Birdsong provides a natural soundtrack, as bulbuls, gray wagtails, warblers, blackbirds, and turtledoves all call the garden home. National Geographic, 20 Sep. 2019 To test the durability of the critters, Kenji Suetsugu, a biologist at Kobe University in Japan, and his team fed eggs from three species of stick insect to a brown-eared bulbul birds. Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, 30 May 2018 For a bulbul, the costs of abandoning a nest and starting anew are huge. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2011

Word History

Etymology

Persian, from Arabic

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bulbul was in 1665

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Cite this Entry

“Bulbul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulbul. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

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