sparrow
Americannoun
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any of numerous American finches of the family Emberizinae.
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any member of the Old World genus Passer, formerly thought to be closely related to the weaverbirds but now placed in their own family, Passeridae.
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British. the house sparrow.
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any of several other unrelated small birds.
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Military. Sparrow, a 12-foot (4-meter), all-weather, radar-guided U.S. air-to-air missile with an 88-pound (40-kilogram) high-explosive warhead.
noun
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any weaverbird of the genus Passer and related genera, esp the house sparrow, having a brown or grey plumage and feeding on seeds or insects
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any of various North American finches, such as the chipping sparrow ( Spizella passerina ), that have a dullish streaked plumage
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sparrow
First recorded before 900; Middle English sparowe, Old English spearwa; cognate with Gothic sparwa, Old Norse spǫrr
Explanation
A sparrow is a small brown bird. Sparrows live near humans and have a pretty, musical song. A sparrow is a different bird in the US than it is in other parts of the world. A "true sparrow" is found mainly in Europe, where it commonly nests in the eaves of buildings and in trees in cities. American sparrows got their name because they resemble true sparrows at first glance — they're both small, round, brownish birds — but they're from completely different families.
Vocabulary lists containing sparrow
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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.
Doctors, including pediatrician and public-health advocate Annie Sparrow, remember hospitals without blood bags, antibiotics, or power.
From Slate • Nov. 19, 2025
One of them, Lydia Sparrow, spent two years working at the center in her early 20s.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
Fujii Kaze comes across a bit shy at first, but after he gets comfortable, his quirky sense of humor and high cheekbones evoke a slightly subdued Jack Sparrow.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025
The court heard how all three defendants took part in a complex surveillance mission that involved a chain-smoking, fast food loving, Russian spy codenamed Red Sparrow.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2024
She says she named me Sparrow because I was so small and brown, almost breakable, but so strong.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
