auk

American  

[awk] / ɔk /

noun

1. any of several usually black-and-white diving birds of the family Alcidae, of northern seas, having webbed feet and small wings.

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auk British  

/ ɔːk /

noun

1. any of various diving birds of the family Alcidae of northern oceans having a heavy body, short tail, narrow wings, and a black-and-white plumage: order Charadriiformes See also great auk razorbill auk

2. a small short-billed auk, Plautus alle, abundant in Arctic regions

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Etymology

Origin of auk

1665–75; < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse alka

Example Sentences

Humans exterminated the passenger pigeon, the great auk and the Carolina parakeet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

In the remote wilderness of Northwest Greenland, the research team employed passive acoustic and imaging technologies to uncover the hidden rhythms of little auk colonies.

From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2024

Interest in the subject has accelerated because of die-offs of some of the puffin’s auk family relatives, such ascommon murres and Cassin’s auklets off the West Coast.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2023

Many sights described in his vivid prose can no longer be seen, like the great auk, which the naturalist mistakenly called a penguin.

From Washington Post • Oct. 22, 2022

I named it Auk I, after the great auk, an extinct bird that couldn’t fly.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam