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View synonyms for albatross

albatross

[ al-buh-traws, -tros ]

noun

  1. any of several large, web-footed sea birds of the family Diomedeidae that have the ability to remain aloft for long periods. Compare wandering albatross.
  2. a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility.
  3. something burdensome that impedes action or progress.
  4. Textiles.
    1. a lightweight worsted fabric with a crepe or pebble finish.
    2. a plain-weave cotton fabric with a soft nap surface.


albatross

/ ˈælbəˌtrɒs /

noun

  1. any large oceanic bird of the genera Diomedea and Phoebetria, family Diomedeidae, of cool southern oceans: order Procellariiformes (petrels). They have long narrow wings and are noted for a powerful gliding flight See also wandering albatross
  2. a constant and inescapable burden or handicap

    an albatross of debt

  3. golf a score of three strokes under par for a hole
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of albatross1

1675–85; variant of algatross frigate bird < Portuguese alcatraz pelican, probably < Arabic al-ghaṭṭāṣ a kind of sea eagle, literally, the diver; -b- for -g- perhaps by association with Latin albus white (the bird's color)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of albatross1

C17: from Portuguese alcatraz pelican, from Arabic al-ghattās, from al the + ghattās white-tailed sea eagle; influenced by Latin albus white: C20 in sense 2, from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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Example Sentences

Most of the stores being closed are in weak malls from which shoppers have long since defected and which have become an albatross for Macy’s.

From Fortune

Well, birds in the order Procellariiformes—albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters—are commonly known as tubenoses because of that curious little characteristic.

After all, these frequent discounts have proved an albatross for old school retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Gap, training people to wait for a deal.

From Digiday

When the opportunity arose to analyze flight data from albatrosses — birds that fly freely over the open ocean in search of food — he gratefully took it.

The study also criticized certain analytical techniques and claimed that albatrosses don’t do Lévy walks after all, and that it was unclear whether many species did.

Note to Sting: An “albatross” in this context is more like “tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.”

She confesses that shame “hung around my neck like a scarlet-A albatross.”

The deal reached to end the shutdown did nothing to address the albatross of unpredictability.

It was tough when I was younger; it was like an albatross on my back but I just found a way to navigate it.

But the Ryan budget could become an albatross in the negotiations over the fiscal cliff.

He proposed that I might pilot the two-seater while he followed and pretended to give chase in an Albatross scout.

Instantly a great albatross swooped down upon it and swallowed the bait.

Far out on the Pacific the albatross sails proudly on his broad wings, and cares nothing for high winds or storms.

I was surprised and delighted to see a large albatross soaring majestically over the ship.

A few hours later we were landing beside the Albatross, in the leaden blue sea beyond the ice barrier.

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albataalbatross around one's neck