kookaburra
noun
kook·a·bur·ra
ˈku̇-kə-ˌbər-ə 
-ˌbə-rə
: a brownish kingfisher (Dacelo novaeguineae synonym D. gigas) of Australia that is about the size of a crow and has a call resembling loud laughter
called also laughing jackass
Examples of kookaburra in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On their adventures, the Heeler family often encounters other common Australian wildlife, too, including fruit bats, brolgas, lizards and kookaburras.
—
Liz Regalia, Parents, 14 Feb. 2025
Dramatic hills are thickly coated with giant eucalyptus and native she-oak; wild lavender shelters native wildlife like musical magpies and cackling kookaburras.
—Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Dec. 2024
The six-acre park has roughly 190 animals to see, which include bald eagles, porcupines, otters, emus and laughing kookaburras.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 23 July 2024
Get up close and personal with Australia's unique wildlife on Kangaroo Island's nature reserve and see koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, fur seals, penguins, and kookaburras.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2023
First, your observations are checked for obvious errors — no penguins in Oregon or Australian kookaburras in Poughkeepsie, for example.
—The New York Times Elaine Chen Emily Anthes, New York Times, 18 May 2023
In 2006, when the queen was eager to see a kookaburra on a trip to Australia, Ms. Kelly pranked her with a fake one.
—Rory Satran, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022
Australia’s poppy song was written with AI trained on previous Eurovision hits along with contributions from a neural network fed samples of noises made by koalas, kookaburras and Tasmanian devils.
—Amy Thomson, Bloomberg.com, 24 Apr. 2020
But in a fishing village thousands of miles away, where giant goannas scuttled through gumtrees and kookaburras laughed, my siblings were hunting for wild animal scat and leaping into the ocean.
—New York Times, 17 Jan. 2020
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Liz Regalia, Parents, 14 Feb. 2025
Dramatic hills are thickly coated with giant eucalyptus and native she-oak; wild lavender shelters native wildlife like musical magpies and cackling kookaburras.
—Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Dec. 2024
The six-acre park has roughly 190 animals to see, which include bald eagles, porcupines, otters, emus and laughing kookaburras.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 23 July 2024
Get up close and personal with Australia's unique wildlife on Kangaroo Island's nature reserve and see koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, fur seals, penguins, and kookaburras.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2023
First, your observations are checked for obvious errors — no penguins in Oregon or Australian kookaburras in Poughkeepsie, for example.
—The New York Times Elaine Chen Emily Anthes, New York Times, 18 May 2023
In 2006, when the queen was eager to see a kookaburra on a trip to Australia, Ms. Kelly pranked her with a fake one.
—Rory Satran, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022
Australia’s poppy song was written with AI trained on previous Eurovision hits along with contributions from a neural network fed samples of noises made by koalas, kookaburras and Tasmanian devils.
—Amy Thomson, Bloomberg.com, 24 Apr. 2020
But in a fishing village thousands of miles away, where giant goannas scuttled through gumtrees and kookaburras laughed, my siblings were hunting for wild animal scat and leaping into the ocean.
—New York Times, 17 Jan. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Kookaburra.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kookaburra. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
kookaburra
noun
kook·a·bur·ra
ˈku̇k-ə-ˌbər-ə
ˈkük-,
-ˌbə-rə
: an Australian kingfisher that is about the size of a crow and has a call resembling loud laughter
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