petrel

noun

pe·trel | \ˈpe-trəl,

\

Definition of petrel

: any of numerous seabirds (especially families Procellariidae and Hydrobatidae) especially : one of the smaller long-winged birds that fly far from land — compare storm petrel

Examples of petrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The rats—brought to the island by whalers and sealers as early as the late 18th century—ate the eggs and vulnerable chicks of seabirds, including albatrosses, skua, terns, and petrels. — National Geographic, "Large Island Declared Rat-Free in Biggest Removal Success," 9 May 2018 Conservationists have long worried about microplastics, the tiny bits that have been found in the stomachs of seabirds, including many petrels, auklets and gulls that live along the California coast. — Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now three times the size of France," 22 Mar. 2018 While penguins may look profoundly different from other birds, their DNA points to a close kinship to such species as albatrosses and petrels. — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, "Ancient Penguins Were Giant Waddling Predators," 12 Dec. 2017 Seabirds that are strong flyers; gulls, shearwaters, petrels, and jaegers; will usually exit the storm first. — Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Look what the hurricane blew in," 22 Sep. 2017 The island is a nesting site for rare species of petrels, shearwaters and terns. — Evan Halper, latimes.com, "These are the 10 ecologically sensitive landscapes and marine preserves Trump may be targeting," 18 Sep. 2017 The team also found, not surprisingly, that the birds most attracted to the DMS odor are the albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters that are most severely affected by plastic consumption. — Laura Parker, National Geographic, "Animals Eat Ocean Plastic Because it Smells Like Food," 9 Nov. 2016 More specifically, Wilson is tweeting from Bird Island, which is all of three miles long and populated by extremely photogenic giant petrels, macaroni penguins, and elephant seals. — Chelsea Leu, WIRED, "Scientists Who Tweet From Ridiculously Remote Places," 23 Oct. 2015 Pigeons, petrels, honeybees and possibly bears and mice use odor maps of their neighborhoods to return to den sites or nests. — Michael Engelhard, Alaska Dispatch News, "An ode to Alaska odors," 1 July 2017

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

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The first known use of petrel was in 1602

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More Definitions for petrel

petrel

noun

English Language Learners Definition of petrel

: a bird that has long wings and usually dark feathers and that lives mainly on the ocean

See the full definition for petrel in the English Language Learners Dictionary

petrel

noun

pe·trel | \ˈpe-trəl,

ˈpē-\

Kids Definition of petrel

: a small seabird with long wings that flies far from land

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