finch

noun

\ ˈfinch

Definition of finch

: any of numerous passerine songbirds (families Fringillidae, Estrildidae, Emberizidae, and Cardinalidae) having a short stout usually conical bill adapted for crushing seeds

Examples of finch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What the finches ate required beaks best suited to eat it. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "BREAKING: Mystery of Square Wombat Poop Revealed," 20 Nov. 2018 In the hallways, cream walls with brown runner carpets will give way to white walls and bright blue-and-green carpet featuring the hotel's signature birds, finches. — Chabeli Herrera, miamiherald, "The Biltmore Hotel is transforming for the 21st century. You won't recognize the rooms.," 27 June 2018 Those who attend can place bets on the winner, officials say, and the victorious finch can nab its owner around $5,000 in some cases. — Josh Magness, miamiherald, "Men smuggled 26 birds in socks, hair curlers to get them in a singing contest, officials say | Miami Herald," 5 Apr. 2018 Darwin’s ideas about evolution were based on the observable characteristics of his finches. — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, "What We Can Learn From a New Bird Tree of Life," 21 Apr. 2018 Presently, an invasive parasitic fly threatens to render the endemic mangrove finch—of which only an estimated 100 remain—extinct. — Alexandra Kirkman, Fortune, "Visit the Galapagos Like a Royal," 23 June 2018 Mosquitoes become carriers of the disease after feeding on infected birds, such as crows, ravens and finches, which act as hosts for the disease. — Hannah Holzer, sacbee, "Vigilance urged as Sacramento region leads state in West Nile virus activity," 12 July 2018 Her garden was a wildlife habitat and a migration stopover for hummingbirds, butterflies, and finches. — Bonnie L. Cook, Philly.com, "Joan 'Penny' Colgan-Davis, innovative educator and clerk of Quaker meetings," 6 July 2018 Birds such as crows, ravens, finches and magpies act as hosts for the disease. — Hannah Holzer, sacbee, "West Nile Virus season has begun: 8 birds have tested positive in Sac County," 25 June 2018

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

History and Etymology for finch

Middle English fynche, fynch, going back to Old English fink, going back to West Germanic *finki-, *finkja-, perhaps going back to an Indo-European echoic noun base *ping-, whence also Greek pínga "nestling" and, with mobile s, Greek spíngon "siskin," Old Norse spiki "tit, Swedish spink "finch" (in regional gulspink "yellowhammer" or "great tit"), dialectal English spink "finch" (perhaps borrowed from Scandinavian)