parakeet

American  

[par-uh-keet] / ˈpær əˌkit /

Also paraquet, or parrakeet

noun

• parakeets
  plural

1. any of numerous small, slender parrots, usually having a long, pointed, graduated tail, often kept as pets and noted for the ability to mimic speech: several species are endangered.

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parakeet British  

/ ˈpærəˌkiːt /

noun

1. any of numerous small usually brightly coloured long-tailed parrots, such as Psittacula krameri ( ring-necked parakeet ), of Africa

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• parakeets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of parakeet

1575–85; from Middle French paroquet “parrot,” apparently originally a diminutive of P(i)errot, diminutive of Pierre “Peter,” as a name for a parrot; the modern form and its earlier variants have been influenced by Italian parrocchetto and Spanish periquito (both ultimately from Middle French )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parakeet parakeets

Her caged parakeet in the upper corner stares back at us, acknowledging our voyeurism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

The super breeders saving their endangered parakeet species.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

The bumps push out candy-striped and aproned gowns; they are exaggerated by belted waists, and one particularly protuberant tummy doubles as a perch for a parakeet.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025

He grew up with dogs, cats, a parakeet and a parrot that lived to 60.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2024

The parakeet is screeching because it’s time to feed him.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

He goes by, tells her the parakeets are like “flying candy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

To better understand how these initial interactions unfold, researchers placed groups of wild-caught monk parakeets together in a spacious flight pen.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 23, 2025

Grief, too, steers us, a cleansing ritual, as I recall each time my wife and I meander beneath Green-Wood’s leafy canopy, parakeets swooping and chattering overhead, or sit quietly in its hushed chapel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025

This is true for a veritable zoo of nonhuman creatures, including horses, parakeets, monkeys, and lizards, who all see the illusion as well.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2025

The sound was like the muffled jabber of parakeets.

From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

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