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

Fox, a prior 62-shooter, delivered clutch birdies on the 17th and 18th, overcoming a difficult lie on the 15th to secure the Claret Jug with a final 68. — Jeff Hartman, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Zach Johnson rolls in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and outlasts Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a three-man playoff to win the British Open. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Verb

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler somehow managed to stick around until the end, getting two bad bounces that cost him momentum, then getting one big break for a most improbable birdie but failing to birdie the 18th. — Doug Ferguson, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

The 29-year-old American birdied the second hole to reach 11-under and extend his advantage. — Dan Zaksheske, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2026

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