black·bird
ˈblak-ˌbərd 
1
: any of various birds of which the males are largely or entirely black: such as
a
: a common thrush (Turdus merula) of Eurasia and northern Africa having an orange bill and eye rim
b
: any of several American oscine birds (family Icteridae)
2
: a Pacific islander kidnapped for use as a plantation laborer
blackbirded; blackbirding; blackbirds
: to engage in the slave trade especially in the South Pacific
Examples of blackbird in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Elliptical wings–found in crows, blackbirds, ravens, thrushes and sparrows–are optimized for short bursts of high speed.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Those can contain hundreds of thousands of birds of several blackbird species.
—Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Blue Hour and Red Moon by Anton Trexler Anton Trexler, a 17-year-old from Germany, wowed the judges with his striking shot of a Eurasian blackbird silhouetted against a bright full moon.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Sep. 2023
On a recent visit, a bat flew over the tracks in a tunnel, raspberries stained the ground and a baby blackbird took its tentative first steps, yards away from the River Seine.
—Juliette Guéron-Gabrielle, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
From the blackbirds with red shoulder pads to the murmuration-forming starlings, these birds have plenty to recommend them, including their warbles, chirps, and whistles.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
In the poem, Stevens found 13 different ways of looking at a blackbird.
—David Quammen, New York Times, 25 July 2023
The male blackbirds tend to perch atop cattails, while the females spend more time on the ground, foraging and hopping around on lily pads.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2023
Noun
The train hisses, someone coughs, a blackbird sings.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Elliptical wings–found in crows, blackbirds, ravens, thrushes and sparrows–are optimized for short bursts of high speed.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Those can contain hundreds of thousands of birds of several blackbird species.
—Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Blue Hour and Red Moon by Anton Trexler Anton Trexler, a 17-year-old from Germany, wowed the judges with his striking shot of a Eurasian blackbird silhouetted against a bright full moon.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Sep. 2023
On a recent visit, a bat flew over the tracks in a tunnel, raspberries stained the ground and a baby blackbird took its tentative first steps, yards away from the River Seine.
—Juliette Guéron-Gabrielle, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
From the blackbirds with red shoulder pads to the murmuration-forming starlings, these birds have plenty to recommend them, including their warbles, chirps, and whistles.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2023
In the poem, Stevens found 13 different ways of looking at a blackbird.
—David Quammen, New York Times, 25 July 2023
The male blackbirds tend to perch atop cattails, while the females spend more time on the ground, foraging and hopping around on lily pads.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blackbird.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Blackbird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackbird. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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