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

Hill hit a long bunker shot to 3 feet and holed the birdie putt for a 13 1/2-12 1/2 victory. — Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026

And yet, hours later, 22-year-old amateur Josh Hill looked over a birdie putt of just 3 feet, with thousands circling the 18th green at Lahinch in southwest Ireland as two nervous teams looked on. — Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Verb

Graham birdied the last two holes to earn a precious halve against 17-year-old Miles Russell. — Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026

The 23-year-old Chinese player parred the next five in breezy conditions and birdied the par-5 18th for a 2-under 70 and a two-stroke victory. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 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