nuthatch

[ nuht-hach ]

noun
  1. any of numerous small, short-tailed, sharp-beaked birds of the family Sittidae that creep on trees and feed on small nuts and insects.

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Origin of nuthatch

1
1300–50; Middle English notehache, nuthagge, nuthak, literally, nut hacker. See nut, hack1

Words Nearby nuthatch

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

How to use nuthatch in a sentence

  • The body and bill of the nuthatch is stouter, and not such a pretty shape, and his bill almost turns up.

    Citizen Bird | Mabel Osgood Wright and Elliott Coues

British Dictionary definitions for nuthatch

nuthatch

/ (ˈnʌtˌhætʃ) /


noun
  1. any songbird of the family Sittidae, esp Sitta europaea, having strong feet and bill, and feeding on insects, seeds, and nuts

Origin of nuthatch

1
C14: notehache, from note nut + hache hatchet, from the bird's habit of splitting nuts; see nut, hack 1

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