pheasant

noun

pheas·​ant ˈfe-zᵊnt 

plural pheasant or pheasants

1

: any of numerous large often long-tailed and brightly colored Old World gallinaceous birds (Phasianus and related genera of the family Phasianidae) including many raised as ornamental or game birds compare ring-necked pheasant

2

: any of various birds resembling a pheasant

Examples of pheasant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wild rice also is an essential food source for many of the migratory birds in the area, including many species of ducks, pheasants, owls, cranes, geese and songbirds. —Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Chief among those is a hood ornament that depicts a Labrador with a pheasant in its mouth. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2025

The sights included fenced peacocks, pheasants, geese (some bite, they were cautioned), chickens, and, in a massive stable made of local stone, miniature Sicilian donkeys and Friesian horses. —Bob Morris, New Yorker, 14 July 2025

Some species now naturalized in the United Kingdom, for example—from apples and asparagus to fallow deer and pheasants—arrived with Roman conquerors. —Krista Langlois, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fesaunt, from Anglo-French fesant, faisan, from Latin phasianus, from Greek (ornis) phasianos, from phasianos of the Phasis River, from Phasis, river in Colchis

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pheasant

• ring-necked pheasant

Rhymes for pheasant

• peasant
• pleasant
• present
• omnipresent
• unpleasant

Kids Definition

pheasant

noun

pheas·​ant ˈfez-ᵊnt 

plural pheasant or pheasants

: any of numerous large long-tailed brightly colored birds that are related to the domestic chicken and many of which are raised as ornamental or game birds