1
: any of various slaty-black birds (genus Fulica) of the rail family that somewhat resemble ducks and have lobed toes and the upper mandible prolonged on the forehead as a horny frontal shield
2
: any of several North American scoters
3
: a harmless simple person
broadly
: fellow sense 4c
Examples of coot in a Sentence
Don't mind him—he's just a crazy old coot.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jamie Smart, aged eight, was recognized for his striking image of a pheasant sitting on a farm gate beside blossoming blackthorn in spring, while 17-year-old Max Wood won the overall young photographer title with his photo of a coot running across a misty lake in Surrey, UK.
—
Nell Lewis, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
Unable to obtain carcasses of Eurasian coot or teal, the researchers used the wing bones of two female mallard ducks.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
While the common coot pictured here and the American coot are species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, certain other rails are highly threatened.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023
The flutes went unnoticed until last year when Dr. Davin observed marks on seven wing bones of Eurasian coots and Eurasian teals.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
The Natufians picked small wing bones from the Eurasian teal and the Eurasian coot to best mimic the sound of birds of prey native to the area.
—Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2023
Even playing in front of tiny audiences, this ol’ coot flouncing about onstage, is a blast.
—Tristram Lozaw, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
Birds that once wintered at Tulare Lake — ibises, blackbirds and American coots — are returning in increasing numbers.
—Shawn Hubler, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2023
This dramedy about a kid befriending an old coot played by Bill Murray is more than a little sitcommy, reducing both the irreverence of Murray’s funniest movies and the prickliness of his work with Wes Anderson into standard senior-citizen-speaks-freely shtick.
—Jesse Hassenger, Men's Health, 12 Jan. 2023
Nell Lewis, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
Unable to obtain carcasses of Eurasian coot or teal, the researchers used the wing bones of two female mallard ducks.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
While the common coot pictured here and the American coot are species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, certain other rails are highly threatened.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023
The flutes went unnoticed until last year when Dr. Davin observed marks on seven wing bones of Eurasian coots and Eurasian teals.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
The Natufians picked small wing bones from the Eurasian teal and the Eurasian coot to best mimic the sound of birds of prey native to the area.
—Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2023
Even playing in front of tiny audiences, this ol’ coot flouncing about onstage, is a blast.
—Tristram Lozaw, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
Birds that once wintered at Tulare Lake — ibises, blackbirds and American coots — are returning in increasing numbers.
—Shawn Hubler, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2023
This dramedy about a kid befriending an old coot played by Bill Murray is more than a little sitcommy, reducing both the irreverence of Murray’s funniest movies and the prickliness of his work with Wes Anderson into standard senior-citizen-speaks-freely shtick.
—Jesse Hassenger, Men's Health, 12 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near coot
Cite this Entry
“Coot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coot. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coot
noun1
: a slaty-black bird of the rail family that somewhat resembles a duck
2
: any of several North American scoters
3
: a harmless simple person
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