Synonyms

curlew

American

[kur-loo] / ˈkɜr lu /

noun

any of several shorebirds of the genus Numenius, having a long, slender, downcurved bill, as the common N. arquata, of Europe.
any of various similar birds.

curlew British

/ ˈkɜːljuː /

noun

any large shore bird of the genus Numenius, such as N. arquata of Europe and Asia: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes. They have a long downward-curving bill and occur in northern and arctic regions Compare stone curlew

"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

Etymology

Origin of curlew

1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French curleu, cognate with Middle French corleu; perhaps imitative

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.

Others receiving 6 or more points: Curlew 12.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2023

For the Lindisfarne Curlew he "just really sort of splashed a lot of ink on", he added.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2023

Scriver has been atop a horse since learning to walk — as a little girl in 4H in Curlew, Wash., and barrel racing at rodeos as an adolescent.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2021

Stoltz was born May 29, 1945, and raised in Curlew, Iowa.

From Fox News • Nov. 27, 2018

It got so that I liked the rehearsals, even though it meant that I couldn't be drawing the Great Esquimaux Curlew with Mr. Powell on Saturday afternoons.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023