bird

noun, often attributive

\ˈbərd

Definition of bird

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

5a : 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

for the birds

: worthless, ridiculous

bird

verb

birded; birding; birds

Definition of bird (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

: to observe or identify wild birds in their habitats

Bird

biographical name

\ˈbərd

Definition of Bird (Entry 3 of 3)

Larry 1956– Lawrence Joseph Bird American basketball player

Other Words from bird Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about bird

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Synonyms & Antonyms for bird

Synonyms: Noun

boo, Bronx cheer, catcall, hiss, hoot, jeer, raspberry, razz, snort

Antonyms: Noun

cheer

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

Longtime residents like the Closses have been joined in Barron over the past decade by refugees, many of them Somalis, who were drawn by jobs cleaning cages and slaughtering birds at the Jennie-O plant. — Tim Gruber, The Seattle Times, "Mystery in a small town: A quiet couple are shot dead, their daughter is missing," 6 Nov. 2018 Preferred Shoppers who spent $250 (in increments of at least $50 each purchase) from October through November could redeem their points for a free bird. — Amina Lake Abdelrahman, Good Housekeeping, "5 Ways to Score a Free Turkey for Thanksgiving This Year," 30 Oct. 2018 This should help eliminate all those images of people with their eyes closed, dogs who turn away from the camera at the last moment, and even some bird photo-bombing your frame. — Jon Phillips, PCWorld, "Google Pixel 3: The 5 features that matter most," 9 Oct. 2018 The child's choices include boy or girl, bird or fish, cat or rabbit, and tree or star. — Fox News, "Library moves 'Drag Queen Story Time' to bigger venue," 28 Sep. 2018 This left Iowa farmers struggling to dispose of 26 million dead birds. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "How 3.4 million chickens drowned in Hurricane Florence," 24 Sep. 2018 Chorus waves got their name because, when converted to sound, listeners likened it to a chorus of birds chirping. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, "Jupiter's Largest Moon Ganymede Produces Powerful Plasma Waves," 8 Aug. 2018 Rampant patches of wildflowers stretch out before you as native birds call to each other. — Discover Magazine, "Why Hiking in Beaver Creek is Perfect for Budding Naturalists," 7 Aug. 2018 Cattle egrets are rare here, but a wandering bird shows up every few years. — Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, "You’ll have no regrets in search for egrets – and herons, too," 11 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

EASY PEEPERS North River Wildlife Sanctuary offers birding by van at monthly outings. — Robert Knox, BostonGlobe.com, "Floral art makes the books bloom in Norwell," 20 Apr. 2018 But instead of writing the obvious profile, Taffy made birding the foundation for a story about a man who, in the age of sharing, has built a fence around himself. — Emilia Petrarca, The Cut, "What Paris Couture and Jonathan Franzen Have in Common," 6 July 2018 Courtesy of Crystal Lagoon Fishing piers, birding trails, wildlife blinds, butterfly gardens, bicycle paths and playgrounds. — Houston Chronicle, "Houston nature centers and preserves," 10 May 2018 Kuchar, ranked 21st in the world, stood at 1 under after his first 11 holes before birding four of his final seven — all on putts of 15 feet or less — to move into second. — BostonGlobe.com, "Rory Sabbatini surges to early RBC Heritage lead; No. 1 Dustin Johnson five back," 13 Apr. 2018 With thousands of sites for people to bird and record their findings, officials expect any incorrect information to be negligible. — Joshua Bowling, azcentral, "Program asks for public's help spotting, researching birds in regional counting project," 24 May 2018 The park offers picnicking, birding, and restroom facilities and is situated near downtown Flat Rock for folks looking to grab a sub sandwich or ice cream cone. — Lydia Lohrer, Detroit Free Press, "Memorial Day fishing guide: Hot spots in Metro Detroit, around state," 26 May 2018 When birding Latta Park, always check along the stream and adjacent shrubs and thickets first. — Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Brightly plumaged migrants rest up at Latta Park in Dilworth | Charlotte Observer," 29 Apr. 2018 But one day when out birding with a grad student, Bird spotted an Anna’s hummingbird, a stocky, 4-inch-long bird, and his perspective changed. — National Geographic, "The Biggest Bird That Ever Lived and 5 More Bird Superstars," 15 May 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.