Illustration of turkey
- turkey 1
plural turkeys
1
plural also turkey
: a large North American gallinaceous bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that is domesticated in most parts of the world
also
: its flesh used as food
3
: three successive strikes in bowling
4
: a stupid, foolish, or inept person
Examples of turkey in a Sentence
He was acting like a complete turkey.
only a turkey would think it's a good idea to go for a jog when the weather drops below zero
Recent Examples on the Web
Over the next several decades, a roll call of Pennsylvania’s native animals would be extirpated, including mountain lions, wolves, wolverines, badgers, pine marten, and fisher cats; whitetail deer were nearly wiped out of the state, as were black bears and turkeys.
—
Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
In March 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult visited a Carlsbad, California, restaurant for their last supper—identical orders of iced tea, salad, turkey pot pie, and cheesecake.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 8 June 2026
Sliced roast turkey, prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, sautéed spinach, and roasted peppers perform alchemy on DiGiampietro’s unrivaled baked-on-site sesame roll.
—Adam Erace, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 June 2026
Wildlife seekers should keep an eye out for rabbits, deer, black bears, wild turkeys, and elk.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for turkey
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.
Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
In March 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult visited a Carlsbad, California, restaurant for their last supper—identical orders of iced tea, salad, turkey pot pie, and cheesecake.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 8 June 2026
Sliced roast turkey, prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, sautéed spinach, and roasted peppers perform alchemy on DiGiampietro’s unrivaled baked-on-site sesame roll.
—Adam Erace, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 June 2026
Wildlife seekers should keep an eye out for rabbits, deer, black bears, wild turkeys, and elk.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for turkey
Cite this Entry
“Turkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turkey. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
turkey
noun
tur·key
ˈtər-kē 
plural turkeys
1
plural also turkey
: a large North American bird that is related to the domestic chicken and is domesticated in most parts of the world
2
: something that is a failure
the new play was a turkey
3
: a stupid or foolish person
Etymology
from turkey-cock, an old word for "guinea fowl," from Turkey, a country in Asia Minor; so called because at one time people thought guinea fowl came from Turkey
Word Origin
The bird we now call the guinea fowl was once called the turkey. Turkey was the shortened version of turkey-cock and turkey-hen. The guinea fowl's original home was in Africa. However, Europeans discovered that it was good to eat and did well in captivity, so they brought it back to Europe. Some people mistakenly thought that the birds came from Turkey, and the name stuck. Later, when English settlers first arrived in America, they found a large bird living here that was also good to eat. They called this new bird turkey because it reminded them of the turkey they were familiar with back in Europe.
Geographical Definition
Turkey
geographical name
Tur·key
ˈtər-kē
variants
or now officially Türkiye
country in western Asia and southeastern Europe between the Mediterranean and Black seas; capital Ankara area 302,535 square miles (783,562 square kilometers), population 81,257,000 see ottoman empire
Note: Turkey was formerly the center of an empire whose capital was Constantinople. Since 1923 it has been a republic.
see also:
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
