barn swallow


noun
  1. a common swallow, Hirundo rustica, of North America and Eurasia, that nests in barns and similar buildings.

Origin of barn swallow

1
An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Words Nearby barn swallow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use barn swallow in a sentence

  • They liked the barn swallow who flew through the air, almost as if he were so happy that he danced as he flew.

    Seven O'Clock Stories | Robert Gordon Anderson
  • They climbed a ladder and found the barn-swallow's nest plastered under the eaves of the barn.

    Seven O'Clock Stories | Robert Gordon Anderson
  • In Sweden she builds in barns, and is called ladu swala, the barn swallow.

  • Easily distinguished from the barn swallow by the square tail and light buffy forehead and rump.

    Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed
  • The eggs of the barn swallow and cliff swallow are more or less speckled.

    Riverby | John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for barn swallow

barn swallow

noun
  1. the US and Canadian name for the common swallow, Hirundo rustica: See swallow 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012