bird

noun, often attributive \ ˈbərd \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Definition of bird

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 2

—

birdlike

play \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— for the birds

: worthless, ridiculous

See bird defined for English-language learners

See bird defined for kids

Examples of bird in a Sentence

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 of bird from the Web

San Diego County is home to more than 500 species of birds.

— carolina gusman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego Comic-Con 2018: 15 free things to do before and after Comic-Con around San Diego County," 13 July 2018
Perks: Bonfire-roasted s’mores, craft cocktails, bird-watching tours, sunrise yoga and custom Allswell bedding.

— christopher ross, WSJ, "The Top 5 CEO Conferences Catering to the World’s Power Players," 10 July 2018
Tracking of birds such as the stork that flew out of Siedlce, Poland, can help researchers assess their habits to inform conservation efforts.

— joshua hafner, ajc, "Stork flies off with tracker, charity gets $2,700 phone bill," 10 July 2018
Tracking of birds such as the stork that flew out of Siedlce, Poland, can help researchers assess their habits to inform conservation efforts.

— joshua hafner, USA TODAY, "Stork flies off with phone tracker, charity gets $2,700 bill," 9 July 2018
The area around the river also is a great place for camping, bird watching and biking.

— jason duaine hahn, PEOPLE.com, "Thinking About Visiting a National Park? Here's Everything You Need to Know for the Best Trip Ever," 3 July 2018
Once again, families can enjoy everything from an anti-aircraft gun nest and what is called the giant Hawk’s Nest — complete with giant eggs — perched on a ravine for bird watching and other interactive activities.

— frank abderholden, Lake County News-Sun, "The natural and historic charms at Fort Sheridan open to public again," 3 July 2018
Inside his house, there is art of birds — paintings and drawings and figurines.

— New York Times, "Jonathan Franzen Is Fine With All of It," 26 June 2018
That is the same year his wife, Megan, came to the zoo to be its curator of birds.

— rick kogan, chicagotribune.com, "Lincoln Park Zoo partners with Chimp Haven — a place where chimps can get out of their lab cages and live free," 21 June 2018

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