least bittern
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of least bittern
An Americanism dating back to 1805–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I went to the other islets, searched bog and tangle, and finally pulled away disappointed, giving the least bittern credit for considerable mother-wit and woodcraft.
From Roof and Meadow by Sharp, Dallas Lore
The croak of the great blue heron sounded again; then far away, mysterious and spirit-like, floated a soft qua, qua, qua—the cry of the least bittern out of the heart of the swamp.
From Roof and Meadow by Sharp, Dallas Lore
Chapman, Frank M., his story of a least bittern, 111.
From Ways of Nature by Burroughs, John
Yet what she loses on one side she gains on another; she is like that least bittern Mr. Frank M. Chapman tells about.
From Ways of Nature by Burroughs, John
Within three paddle-lengths of my boat, in a patch of dark that must be a nest, stood my least bittern.
From Roof and Meadow by Sharp, Dallas Lore
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
