woodpecker

noun

wood·​peck·​er ˈwu̇d-ˌpe-kər 

: any of numerous birds (family Picidae) with zygodactyl feet, stiff spiny tail feathers used in climbing or resting on tree trunks, a usually extensible tongue, a very hard bill used to drill the bark or wood of trees for insect food or to excavate nesting cavities, and generally showy parti-colored plumage

Illustration of woodpecker

Examples of woodpecker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By matching these measurements with high-speed videos, the scientists tracked the woodpeckers’ taps down to every four milliseconds. —Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 2 Jan. 2026

Notably, a noisy woodpecker had set up a nest in our villa’s roof tiles, and the food at the two restaurants was a bit uninspired though perfectly fine. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025

Suet cakes of this sort are ideal for attracting woodpeckers and other year-round resident birds, like nuthatches. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Dec. 2025

Choose black oil sunflower seeds, Stewart recommends, because most backyard birds, including woodpeckers, finches, chickadees, and titmice, eat them. —Lauren David, Southern Living, 23 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing woodpecker

• acorn woodpecker
• downy woodpecker
• hairy woodpecker
• ivory-billed woodpecker
• pileated woodpecker
• red-bellied woodpecker
• red-cockaded woodpecker

Rhymes for woodpecker

• exchequer
• checker
• chequer
• decker
• wrecker

Kids Definition

woodpecker

noun

wood·​peck·​er -ˌpek-ər 

: any of numerous brightly marked birds with strong claws and stiff tail feathers used in climbing or resting on tree trunks, a long flexible tongue, and a very hard bill used to drill into trees to get insects for food and to dig out holes for nesting