roseate tern

noun

: a medium-sized tern (Sterna dougallii) that is widespread at sea and in coastal areas of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and that has a faint roseate tinge to the breast in the breeding season

Examples of roseate tern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In recent years, the refuge has provided important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 31 July 2025 Conservationists estimate the island is home to around 2,500 pairs of common terns and about 35 pairs of roseate terns. Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2025 The roseate tern, one of a handful of federally endangered and protected bird species in Connecticut, has about 95% of its population in the state on the island each summer. Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2025 Several species, including black skimmers, least terns, roseate terns and American oystercatchers, have taken to nesting on the plentiful gravel rooftops of buildings near the waterfront. Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024 Plum Island is home to 227 species of birds, including piping plovers, roseate terns, Northern harriers, ospreys and American oystercatchers, according to Save the Sound’s Envision Plum Island Report. Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2024 One endangered species being monitored is the roseate tern on Buzzards Bay off the coast of Massachusetts. New York Times, 17 June 2022 Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a royal tern, 5 parasitic jaegers, 1,100 laughing gulls, 2 least terns, 175 roseate terns, 2,800 common terns, 4 species of shearwater, and 2 common ravens. BostonGlobe.com, 24 Sep. 2019 At Gooseberry Neck, there were 84 black scoters, three ruddy turnstones, three roseate terns, a great shearwater, a Northern gannet, two cliff swallows, and two orchard orioles. BostonGlobe.com, 30 June 2019

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of roseate tern was circa 1813

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Roseate tern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roseate%20tern. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!