bald eagle

American  

noun

bald eagles plural

1. a large, fish-eating eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, of the U.S. and Canada, having dark golden-brown back and wings, and white plumage on the head and tail in the adult: some recently endangered populations are now recovering.

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bald eagle British  

noun

1. a large eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus , of North America, having a white head and tail, a yellow bill, and dark wings and body. It is the US national bird

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bald eagles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bald eagle

An Americanism dating back to 1680–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bald eagle

The landmark Endangered Species Act -- passed in 1973 and credited with saving the bald eagle, the American alligator and other iconic species -- prohibits "taking" endangered species.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

Outside, with complete rods, we cast on ponds as a resident bald eagle circled overhead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

A young bald eagle has taken flight, leaving an empty nest in Big Bear Valley, California.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

You can get a lot of retweets by referring to the “land of the free” with bald eagle and American flag emojis as you drive over the bridge from Canada.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

“I’ll check him for injuries before I try again. After all, a bald eagle hit him.”

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George