as in pilot
one who flies or is qualified to fly an aircraft or spacecraft
in the early days of aviation, birdmen would travel around the country in their biplanes, putting on flying shows
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Recent Examples of birdman
But until then, at least Sandberg has another insane world — including an acid-defecating birdman — to keep him busy.
—
Alex Ritman, Variety, 27 May 2025
Being a Zimmerman show, the dragons, birdmen, and creatures and complications that pop up will be a wonder to behold.
—Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024
Nearby is an ancient copper plate of a birdman displayed as an example of creativity.
—Peggy McGlone, Washington Post, 27 July 2022
Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 take with a young Håkan Hagegård as birdman Papageno.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 16 Sep. 2017
Wingsuit flying, which relies on the use of a specialized jumpsuit often referred to as a wingsuit, squirrel suit or birdman suit, is one of the most extreme forms of BASE jumping, an acronym for leaping from a building, antenna, span or Earth.
—CBS News, 26 May 2017
Alex Ritman, Variety, 27 May 2025
Being a Zimmerman show, the dragons, birdmen, and creatures and complications that pop up will be a wonder to behold.
—Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024
Nearby is an ancient copper plate of a birdman displayed as an example of creativity.
—Peggy McGlone, Washington Post, 27 July 2022
Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 take with a young Håkan Hagegård as birdman Papageno.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 16 Sep. 2017
Wingsuit flying, which relies on the use of a specialized jumpsuit often referred to as a wingsuit, squirrel suit or birdman suit, is one of the most extreme forms of BASE jumping, an acronym for leaping from a building, antenna, span or Earth.
—CBS News, 26 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birdman
Noun
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One of the bills would create a pilot program for psychedelic or psilocybin mushrooms to be used in medicine for the treatment of mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.—
Esme Murphy,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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Drivers may have to share roads with other cars, but pilots have to share the skies with other planes—and with birds.—
Meena Thiruvengadam,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the mission commander with aviator John Shoffner as pilot and two mission specialist seats paid for by the Saudi Space Commission, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Apr. 2026
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The backstory Il Pellicano begins with a love story, that of Michael Graham, a Royal Air Force aviator, and Patsy Daszel, an American socialite, who met in the mid-1950s at a party in Pelican Point, California.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Birdman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birdman. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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