: any of various small largely gray or olive-colored American flycatchers (genus Contopus)

Examples of pewee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Dead migratory birds -- which include species such as warblers, bluebirds, sparrows, blackbirds, the western wood pewee and flycatchers -- are also being found in Colorado, Texas and Mexico. Alaa Elassar, CNN, 14 Sep. 2020 There were also 22 double-crested cormorants, two bald eagles, two American kestrels, 11 Eastern wood-pewees, and 23 red-eyed vireos. BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2019 The migrant wildlife is gone, the pewees, vireos and wood thrushes all far to the south by now. Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2017

Word History

Etymology

imitative

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pewee was in 1796

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Cite this Entry

“Pewee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pewee. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

Kids Definition

: any of various small grayish or greenish brown birds that eat flying insects

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