whimbrel

noun

whim·​brel ˈ(h)wim-brəl How to pronounce whimbrel (audio)
: a curlew (Numenius phaeopus) chiefly of the northern coastal regions of North America and Eurasia

Examples of whimbrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web At Forest Beach in Chatham there was a pectoral sandpiper along with a whimbrel and the continuing marbled godwit and 5 Western willets. BostonGlobe.com, 7 Dec. 2022 Wellfleet Bay sanctuary, and 42 whimbrel at Indian Neck in Wellfleet. BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 But the whimbrel is in trouble, along with more than 350 other North American bird species that migrate internationally each year. Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2022 But the cities share something in common besides ice and cold: the whimbrel. Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2022 Another shorebird, the whimbrel, also makes a phenomenally long journey over the ocean. Tom Langen, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Sep. 2022 The migratory path of a whimbrel may extend from nesting areas in the Arctic to wintering grounds as far south as Bolivia. CBS News, 9 Sep. 2021 In Hampshire County, notable sightings at the Oxbow Marina included a black-bellied plover, a ruddy turnstone, a whimbrel, and a laughing gull. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2021 From Georges Island in Boston Harbor, sightings included flyby eight great shearwaters, a Cory’s shearwater, 16 Wilson’s storm-petrels, a whimbrel, a Forster’s tern, 12 roseate terns, and two cliff swallows. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whimbrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

circa 1531, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whimbrel was circa 1531

Dictionary Entries Near whimbrel

Cite this Entry

“Whimbrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whimbrel. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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