tinamou
noun
tin·a·mou
ˈti-nə-ˌmü 
: any of a family (Tinamidae) of South and Central American ground-dwelling birds that have a deeply keeled sternum and a rudimentary tail and that produce large glossy usually colorful eggs
Examples of tinamou in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This suggests that the common ancestor of the ratites and the tinamou could fly, and while the tinamou held onto this skill, the branches leading to other ratites became flightless again and again.
—
Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2014
Animals such as tinamou, a bird the local Indigenous people consider sacred, even scarcer.
—Marina Dias, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023
Panguana’s name comes from the local word for the undulated tinamou, a species of ground bird common to the Amazon basin.
—New York Times, 18 June 2021
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.
Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2014
Animals such as tinamou, a bird the local Indigenous people consider sacred, even scarcer.
—Marina Dias, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023
Panguana’s name comes from the local word for the undulated tinamou, a species of ground bird common to the Amazon basin.
—New York Times, 18 June 2021
Cite this Entry
“Tinamou.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tinamou. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share