cormorant

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noun cor·mo·rant \ ˈkȯrm-rənt , ˈkȯr-mə- , ˈkȯr-mə-ˌrant \

Definition of cormorant

1 :any of various dark-colored web-footed waterbirds (family Phalacrocoracidae, especially genus Phalacrocorax) that have a long neck, hooked bill, and distensible throat pouch

2 :a gluttonous, greedy, or rapacious person

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Examples of cormorant in a Sentence

Diamond Jim Brady was perhaps the most celebrated cormorant of the Gilded Age.

Recent Examples of cormorant from the Web

The federal agent quickly identified the man holding white and brown pelicans, a cormorant and two gulls.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "Feds probed anglers linked to shark-dragging but closed case last year," 8 Aug. 2017
A 2016 bird count tallied multiple species of herons, cormorants, pelicans, hawks, plover, gnatcatchers, quail, and terns, among others.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Parking lot becomes salt marsh in Del Mar wetland restoration," 17 July 2017
The eagles eat the cormorants who also nest on the island, and have never bothered the goats.

— megan jones, Lake County News-Sun, "A need for feed: Goats employed as landscapers on Fox Lake island," 28 June 2017
Harbor seal pups pop up and down in the calm waves lapping around you, and double-crested cormorants flap their wings in your direction.

— karen d'souza, The Mercury News, "Morro Bay Weekend Getaway: Kayak through a birder’s paradise," 11 June 2017
Ground zero for bird watchers is the area to the right of the marina, where a feisty rookery of nesting double-crested cormorants and herons chatters up a storm in the trees.

— karen d'souza, The Mercury News, "Morro Bay Weekend Getaway: Kayak through a birder’s paradise," 11 June 2017
Gary Vonderohe, a fish biologist in the department's Charleston office, said the man found them in his yard - beneath a tree used as a roost by cormorants.

— bill monroe, OregonLive.com, "Wild winter steelhead may be MIA; or just unseen in high water," 2 June 2017
On a trip to the Galápagos, Dr. Kruglyak viewed cormorants as an ideal subject, partly because of their relatively recent evolution as a species and their obvious difference from all their kin.

— james gorman, New York Times, "How a Galápagos Bird Lost the Ability to Fly," 1 June 2017
All but ____________ of the 40 or so species of cormorants in the world are able to fly.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: Au Revoir, Paris," 1 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cormorant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of cormorant

Origin and Etymology of cormorant

Middle English cormeraunt, from Middle French cormorant, from Old French cormareng, from corp raven + marenc of the sea, from Latin marinus — more at corbel, marine

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First Known Use: 14th century

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