Illustration of cockatoo
cockatoo
noun
cock·a·too
ˈkä-kə-ˌtü 
plural cockatoos
: any of various large noisy chiefly Australasian crested parrots (family Cacatuidae and especially genus Cacatua)
Examples of cockatoo in a Sentence
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The animals sent back included 11 lemurs, an albino Burmese python, giraffes, a pack of sheep, a pair of sacred ibises, two llamas, tamarins, a kookaburra, a gibbon, capuchins, several parrots, three ground hornbills, three cockatoos, a serval, a Poitou donkey, and a macaw.
—
Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025
There are eight rooms lined with small cages containing chicks — African greys, macaws, and cockatoos.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
Leaves may be flat or wavy or even cylindrical and shaped like tusks, arranged in a configuration like a fan, or maybe a pineapple top or the most emphatic of cockatoo’s crests.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
Among the most intriguing of these was a woman with a white cockatoo perched on her shoulder.
—New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
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Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025
There are eight rooms lined with small cages containing chicks — African greys, macaws, and cockatoos.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
Leaves may be flat or wavy or even cylindrical and shaped like tusks, arranged in a configuration like a fan, or maybe a pineapple top or the most emphatic of cockatoo’s crests.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
Among the most intriguing of these was a woman with a white cockatoo perched on her shoulder.
—New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cockatoo
Cite this Entry
“Cockatoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cockatoo. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cockatoo
noun
cock·a·too
ˈkäk-ə-ˌtü
plural cockatoos
: any of various large noisy usually showy chiefly Australasian parrots that have a bunch of feathers on the head
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