birdie

1 of 2

noun

bird·​ie ˈbər-dē 

plural birdies

1

: a little bird

2

: a golf score of one stroke less than par on a hole compare eagle entry 1

3

: shuttlecock

In Asia, badminton is an obsession … . In one preliminary match in Malaysia, 21,000 people came out to watch the speeding birdie.

—Jennifer Boeth

birdie

2 of 2

verb

birdied; birdieing

transitive verb

: to score a birdie on

Examples of birdie in a Sentence

Noun

I made a birdie on the fifth hole.

I made birdie on the fifth hole.

Verb

She birdied the second hole.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Last year, McIlroy closed with a 6-under 65 on Sunday to get the job done with panache—his back nine revved up crowds with a pair of eagles and a couple birdies for good measure. —Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Novak and Griffin won the Zurich Classic — the PGA Tour’s lone team event — thanks to a 35-foot birdie putt by Griffin on the 17th hole to pull away from a congested leaderboard. —Brody Miller, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Verb

Mao Saigo was the only one to birdie the first playoff hole (18), defeating major champions Ariya Jutanugarn, Ruoning Yin, Hyo Joo Kim and American Lindy Duncan in the playoff. —Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025

Scheffler birdied the fourth hole of the course for the first time in his career. —CBS News, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birdie

• gurdy
• purdy
• sturdy
• thirty
• wordy