ostrich

noun

os·​trich ˈä-strich 

ˈȯ-

also -strij

1

a

: a swift-footed 2-toed flightless ratite bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa that is the largest of existing birds and often weighs 300 pounds (140 kilograms)

b

: rhea

c

: leather made from ostrich skin

2

[from the belief that the ostrich when pursued hides its head in the sand and believes itself to be unseen] : one who attempts to avoid danger or difficulty by refusing to face it

ostrichlike

ˈä-strich-ˌlīk 

ˈȯ-

also -strij-

adjective

Examples of ostrich in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the ostriches steals Turk’s Kangol hat and puts it on. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 May 2026

But creating an artificial incubator was necessary because the Giant Moa, a flightless bird that was hunted to extinction on New Zealand a few hundred years ago by Maori settlers, also had giant eggs, far larger than any living bird, even an ostrich, could possibly carry and lay. —David Bloom, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026

Before scaling the technology further, Colossal plans to conduct additional testing using emu and ostrich eggs, the outlet reported. —Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026

If an ostrich egg reveals rainy conditions, that means an individual human settlement likely also felt that precipitation—and maybe the inhabitants changed their behavior accordingly. —Hannah Richter, Scientific American, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French ostriz, ostrige, from Vulgar Latin *avis struthio, from Latin avis bird + Late Latin struthio ostrich — more at struthious

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing ostrich

• ostrich fern

Kids Definition

ostrich

noun

os·​trich ˈäs-trich 

ˈȯs-

1

: a very large bird of Africa that often weighs as much as 300 pounds (140 kilograms), runs very quickly but cannot fly, and has large wing and tail feathers used especially formerly in dusters and fans and to adorn hats and clothing

2

: one who tries to avoid danger by refusing to face it