hornbill

[ hawrn-bil ]

noun
  1. any large bird of the family Bucerotidae, of the Old World tropics, characterized by a very large bill usually surmounted by a horny protuberance.

Origin of hornbill

1
First recorded in 1765–75; horn + bill2

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

How to use hornbill in a sentence

  • The grey hornbills (Lophoceros birostris) are now seeking out holes in which to deposit their eggs.

  • On the 30th he observed that the hole had become smaller, and suspected that the hornbills had taken possession.

  • The large hornbills (“Gasalo”) were very hard to stalk, and as they generally frequented the tallest trees they were out of shot.

  • Hornbills have also turned wild, so we can find nothing to replenish our larder but an occasional kid.

    Siam | George B. Bacon
  • I also noticed several hornbills, but they appeared to have been only attracted by curiosity.

    British Borneo | W. H. Treacher

British Dictionary definitions for hornbill

hornbill

/ (ˈhɔːnˌbɪl) /


noun
  1. any bird of the family Bucerotidae of tropical Africa and Asia, having a very large bill with a basal bony protuberance: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)

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