dodo

American  

[doh-doh] / ˈdoʊ doʊ /

noun

plural

dodos, dodoes

1. any of several clumsy, flightless, extinct birds of the genera Raphus and Pezophaps, related to pigeons but about the size of a turkey, formerly inhabiting the islands of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodriguez.

2. Slang. a dull-witted, slow-reacting person.

3. a person with old-fashioned, conservative, or outmoded ideas.

4. a thing that is outmoded or obsolete.

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dodo British  

/ ˈdəʊdəʊ /

noun

1. any flightless bird, esp Raphus cucullatus, of the recently extinct family Raphidae of Mauritius and adjacent islands: order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc). They had a hooked bill, short stout legs, and greyish plumage See also ratite

2. informal an intensely conservative or reactionary person who is unaware of changing fashions, ideas, etc

3. (of a person or thing) irretrievably defunct or out of date

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dodo Idioms  

1. see under dead as a doornail.

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Other Word Forms

• dodoism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dodo

First recorded in 1620–30, dodo is from the Portuguese word doudo, fool, madman (of uncertain origin); the bird apparently so called from its clumsy appearance

Example Sentences

And Dodo Pizza’s customers apparently cannot get enough of it.

From BBC • Aug. 28, 2024

In the book, the camp is inspired by a disabled Black child known as Dodo, who the town rallies to protect.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 5, 2023

Wampold is best known for research suggesting that all types of evidence-based talk therapies work equally well, a controversial phenomenon known as the Dodo Bird effect.

From New York Times • May 16, 2023

Vox owns a legion of media brands including PopSugar, Recode, the Dodo and NowThis.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2023

Dodo Conway was a Catholic who had gone to Barnard and then married an architect who had gone to Columbia and was also a Catholic.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

Related Words

• clodpoll