puffin

American  

[puhf-in] / ˈpʌf ɪn /

noun

• puffins
  plural

1. any of several alcidine sea birds of the genera Fratercula and Lunda, having a short neck and a large, compressed, grooved bill, as F. arctica Atlantic puffin, of the North Atlantic.

---

puffin British  

/ ˈpʌfɪn /

noun

1. any of various northern diving birds of the family Alcidae (auks, etc), esp Fratercula arctica ( common or Atlantic puffin ), having a black-and-white plumage and a brightly coloured vertically flattened bill: order Charadriiformes

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• puffins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of puffin

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English poffoun, poffin, puffon (compare Anglo-Latin poffo, puffo ); origin uncertain

Explanation

A puffin is a black and white seabird with a bright orange beak and matching feet. Most puffins live in the northernmost parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Puffins belong to the family of birds known as auks. While puffins' coloring, proximity to the ocean, and fondness for fish make them similar to penguins, the two birds have some major differences. Penguins, which don't fly, have heavy bones that help them swim. Puffins, on the other hand, have hollow bones that assist them in soaring through the air. And while penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, puffins are only found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

puffin puffins

An illustration shows a Buster Keaton-eyed puffin with a beakful of sardines or sprats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The Skomer team set out on a calm, clear evening with binoculars and notepad in hand to count every single puffin on land, in the sky and at sea.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

"I've found balloons with animals attached. I've actually found a dead puffin too," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

They added that the puffin started to "look brighter" after being "dried and rehydrated" and would be ready to return to the wild in the near future.

From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026

It was highly unusual for a puffin of his caliber to share his residence with a stranger.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park is a pristine home to brown bears, horned puffins and beluga whales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

While people mainly associate Rathlin Island with puffins, they have returned to the Isle of Muck nature reserve in County Antrim in recent years, after a rat eradication programme.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The park, a one-hour bush-plane flight from Anchorage, is known for its abundance of brown bears, horned puffins and critically endangered beluga whales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The book’s most vibrant chapter chronicles the near-miraculous recovery of Atlantic puffins in Maine, at the southern fringe of their range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Nations did not need to have the same kind of civilization, nor the same kind of leader, any more than the puffins and the guillemots did.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White