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

Henseleit's 40-foot birdie putt to force a playoff with AIG Women's Open winner Shiho Kuwaki wound up costing Tamburlini a spot. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

The overwhelming majority of players attempted to drive the green, and at worst, left themselves a chip shot of less than 20 or so yards, giving them a great opportunity at birdie, or maybe even an eagle. — Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Verb

Jerry Kelly birdied the 72nd hole Sunday (despite hitting the ball in a greenside bunker) to account for a 2-shot margin of victory over Gogel, Darren Fichardt and Cameon Perry. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026

This is not an unusual sight this week at the 3M Open as players routinely have birdie putts on the par 5 finishing hole. — Mike Fore, Forbes.com, 25 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