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)

Illustration of cockatoo

Examples of cockatoo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, primeval rainforests murmur with ancient secrets—thick with strangler figs and screeching cockatoos. —Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

However, the cockatoos in the study exhibited considerable variation in their dance movements. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2025

The study also examined six cockatoos from the Wagga Wagga zoo in Australia, pairing them with birds of the opposite sex, and exposing them to different settings including music, podcasts and silence. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025

Never was there a noisier bird than a macaw, but cockatoos can get right up there. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 18 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cockatoo

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• caribou
• detinue
• devalue
• donohue

Kids 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