grackle

grack·le | \ ˈgra-kəl

How to pronounce grackle (audio)

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Definition of grackle

1 : any of a genus (Quiscalus of the family Icteridae) of large American blackbirds having iridescent black plumage

2 : any of various Asian starlings (such as the hill mynahs)

Examples of grackle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Furthermore, your intrepid reporter made a rather impressive 32 on the Wonderlic despite a host of sportswriters providing play-by-play like a tree full of grackles. — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "How will the Cowboys’ draft class translate to more winning? Rookies on the field, for starters.," 2 May 2020 Native Carib grackles on the island also take dry pet food and dip it in rain puddles to soften and eat it. — Asher Elbein, New York Times, "Birds That Eat Fire, Pet Food and Sugar Packets to Live Another Day," 28 Apr. 2020 Austin: The luchador grackle statue outside City Hall appears to have burned to the ground in what fire officials suspect was an act of arson. — USA TODAY, "Mormon crickets, luchador grackle, buried treasure: News from around our 50 states," 3 Mar. 2020 They have also been used further inland to ward off pigeons and grackles from locations including U.S. Bank Tower in downtown L.A., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa. — Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times, "Calling in the ‘bird mafia’ to intimidate pesky pigeons and seagulls," 18 Aug. 2019 Tomatoes explode on the vine and purple eggplants drop like drowsy grackles from the tall, tall eggplant trees. — James P. Dewan, chicagotribune.com, "What to do with summer’s bounty of tomatoes, zucchini and more? Make ratatouille," 13 Aug. 2019 According to the study, published in 2016 in PeerJ, the grackles were given puzzles containing food as a prize. — National Geographic, "Why Ravens and Crows Are Earth’s Smartest Birds," 15 Mar. 2018 But for most Texans, the great grackle will continue to be a bothersome bird. — William Axford, Houston Chronicle, "Watch: A massive amount of grackles overtake a Houston intersection," 7 Feb. 2018 Our urbanized environments favor bird species that are flexible in their eating and foraging habits, and willing to do bold, innovative things, like blackbirds or grackles or sparrows. — National Geographic, "Here's Why 'Birdbrain' Should Be a Compliment," 15 May 2016

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

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Last Updated

19 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Grackle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grackle. Accessed 31 May. 2020.

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