bird

1 of 2

noun

ˈbərd 

often attributive

1

archaic : the young of a feathered vertebrate

2

: any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings

3

: a game bird

4

: clay pigeon

5

a

: fellow

b

: a peculiar person

c

chiefly British : girl

6

: shuttlecock

7

chiefly British

a

: a hissing or jeering sound expressive of disapproval

b

: dismissal from employment

8

: a thin piece of meat rolled up with stuffing and cooked

9

: a man-made object (such as an aircraft, rocket, or satellite) that resembles a bird especially by flying or being aloft

10

: an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing the middle finger upward while keeping the other fingers down

—usually used with the

called also finger

11

: birdie sense 2

birdlike

ˈbərd-ˌlīk 

adjective

Illustration of bird

• 1 crest
• 2 crown
• 3 bill
• 4 throat
• 5 auricular region
• 6 breast
• 7 scapulars
• 8 abdomen
• 9 tarsus
• 10 upper wing coverts
• 11 primaries
• 12 secondaries
• 13 rectrix
• 14 tail

bird

2 of 2

verb

birded; birding; birds

intransitive verb

: to observe or identify wild birds in their habitats

Phrases

for the birds

: worthless, ridiculous

Synonyms

Noun

• baby
• being
• bod [British]
• body
• character
• cookie
• cooky
• creature
• customer
• devil
• duck
• egg
• face
• fish
• guy
• head
• human
• human being
• individual
• life
• man
• mortal
• party
• person
• personage
• scout
• slob
• sort
• soul
• specimen
• stiff
• thing
• wight

Examples of bird in a Sentence

Noun

A large bird flew overhead.

The birds were singing outside our window.

He's a tough old bird.

We met some smashing birds at the pub last night.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The song entranced a crowd of eclipse chasers while the birds flocked and some passing dogs barked. —Jamie Carter, Space.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The birds were flying all around, and the dogs were reacting — but at the last eclipse, there was a total calm. —Jamie Carter, Space.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Verb

Festivities during the full day of bird encounters include an introductory course in birding with naturalists and birders Gabriel Willow and Ryan Mandelbaum guiding visitors through the grounds for a half-hour plus walk. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 15 May 2025

Go birding at the Woodlands in University City on Saturday from 8:30-10:30am. —Mike D'onofrio, Axios, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English brid, bird, from Old English bridd

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1917, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bird

• a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• bird colonel
• bird dog
• bird-dogging
• bird-eating spider
• bird feeder
• bird flu
• bird louse
• bird of paradise
• bird of passage
• bird of prey
• bird pepper
• bird's-eye
• bird's-eye maple
• bird's-eye view
• bird's-foot trefoil
• bird's-foot violet
• bird's-nest fern
• bird's nest soup
• bird spider
• bird-watch
• bird-watcher
• butcher-bird
• crocodile bird
• dickey bird
• dicky bird
• dolly bird
• early bird
• elephant bird
• flip (someone) the bird
• free as a bird
• frigate bird
• gallows bird
• game bird
• give (someone) the bird
• goliath bird-eating spider
• goliath bird spider
• man-o'-war bird
• quetzal bird
• rare bird
• secretary bird
• state bird
• tropic bird
• wading bird

Rhymes for bird

• blurred
• burd
• curd
• curred
• furred
• gerd
• gird
• herd
• kurd
• nerd
• purred
• sherd

Kids Definition

bird

1 of 2 noun

ˈbərd 

1

: any of a class of warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate animals with the body covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings

2

: individual sense 2, fellow

especially : a peculiar person

bird

2 of 2 verb

: to observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment

birder noun

Biographical Definition

Bird

biographical name

ˈbərd 

Larry (Joe) 1956–     American basketball player