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• bird
  bird

  noun

  any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
• Bird
  Bird

  noun

  Larry, born 1956, U.S. basketball player.

bird

¹ American  

[burd] / bɜrd /

noun

• birds
  plural

1. any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.

2. a fowl or game bird.

3. Sports.

   1. clay pigeon.

   2. a shuttlecock.

4. Slang. a person, especially one having some peculiarity.

   He's a queer bird.

5. Informal. an aircraft, spacecraft, or guided missile.

6. Cooking. a thin piece of meat, poultry, or fish rolled around a stuffing and braised.

   veal birds.

7. Southern U.S. (in hunting) a bobwhite.

8. Chiefly British Slang. a girl or young woman.

9. Archaic. the young of any fowl.

10. Slang. the bird,

    1. disapproval, as of a performance, by hissing, booing, etc..

       He got the bird when he came out on stage.

    2. scoffing or ridicule.

       He was trying to be serious, but we all gave him the bird.

    3. an obscene gesture of contempt made by raising the middle finger.

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verb (used without object)

1. to catch or shoot birds.

2. to bird-watch.

idioms

1. bird in the hand, a thing possessed in fact as opposed to a thing about which one speculates: Also bird in hand.

   A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

2. birds of a feather, people with interests, opinions, or backgrounds in common.

   Birds of a feather flock together.

3. for the birds, useless or worthless; not to be taken seriously.

   Their opinions on art are for the birds. That pep rally is for the birds.

4. the birds and the bees, basic information about sex and reproduction.

   It was time to talk to the boy about the birds and the bees.

5. a little bird, a secret source of information.

   A little bird told me that today is your birthday.

6. kill two birds with one stone, to achieve two aims with a single effort.

   She killed two birds with one stone by shopping and visiting the museum on the same trip.

7. eat like a bird, to eat sparingly.

   She couldn't understand why she failed to lose weight when she was, as she said, eating like a bird.

Bird ² American  

[burd] / bɜrd /

noun

1. Larry, born 1956, U.S. basketball player.

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bird ¹ British  

/ bɜːd /

noun

1. any warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate of the class Aves , characterized by a body covering of feathers and forelimbs modified as wings. Birds vary in size between the ostrich and the humming bird

2. informal a person (usually preceded by a qualifying adjective, as in the phrases rare bird, odd bird, clever bird )

3. slang a girl or young woman, esp one's girlfriend

4. slang prison or a term in prison (esp in the phrase do bird ; shortened from birdlime , rhyming slang for time )

5. something definite or certain

6. informal the person in question has fled or escaped

7. euphemistic sex and sexual reproduction

8. people with the same characteristics, ideas, interests, etc

9. informal

   1. to be fired or dismissed

   2. (esp of a public performer) to be hissed at, booed, or derided

10. informal to tell someone rudely to depart; scoff at; hiss

11. to accomplish two things with one action

12. without resistance or difficulty

13. a (supposedly) unknown informant

    a little bird told me it was your birthday

14. informal deserving of disdain or contempt; not important

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Bird ² British  

/ bɜːd /

noun

1. nickname of (Charlie) Parker

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bird Scientific  

/ bûrd /

1. Any of numerous warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals of the class Aves. Birds have wings for forelimbs, a body covered with feathers, a hard bill covering the jaw, and a four-chambered heart.

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bird More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bird

• catbird seat
• early bird catches the worm
• eat like a bird
• for the birds
• free as a bird
• kill two birds with one stone
• little bird told me
• naked as a jaybird
• rare bird

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Closer Look

It is generally believed that birds are descended from dinosaurs and probably evolved from them during the Jurassic Period. While most paleontologists believe that birds evolved from a small dinosaur called the theropod, which in turn evolved from the thecodont, a reptile from the Triassic Period, other paleontologists believe that birds and dinosaurs both evolved from the thecodont. There are some who even consider the bird to be an actual dinosaur. According to this view, the bird is an avian dinosaur, and the older dinosaur a nonavian dinosaur. Although there are variations of thought on the exact evolution of birds, the similarities between birds and dinosaurs are striking and undeniable. Small meat-eating dinosaurs and primitive birds share about twenty characteristics that neither group shares with any other kind of animal; these include tubular bones, the position of the pelvis, the shape of the shoulder blades, a wishbone-shaped collarbone, and the structure of the eggs. Dinosaurs had scales, and birds have modified scales—their feathers—and scaly feet. Some dinosaurs also may have had feathers; a recently discovered fossil of a small dinosaur indicates that it had a featherlike covering. In fact, some primitive fossil birds and small meat-eating dinosaurs are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart based on their skeletons alone.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• birdless
  adjective
• birdlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• birds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bird

First recorded before 900; Middle English byrd, bryd, Old English brid(d) (Northumbrian dialect bird ) “young bird, chick”

Explanation

A bird is an animal with wings, feathers, and two legs. Birds, from chickens to crows, are also warm-blooded and lay eggs. Most birds can fly using their wings, and when you visit the coast you'll see various sea birds like gulls, terns, and cormorants. You can use the word bird as a verb meaning "to observe birds as a hobby," and in some places, particularly Britain, it's also a noun meaning "young woman." Bird is an Old English word, an unusual form of bridd, "young bird or fledgling," from an unknown origin.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bird Bird birds

“We were able to approach the bird quietly, without disturbing it,” Kanowa said, attributing the win to the super-stealthy electric truck she was driving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

"They like the nice grassy slopes and the burrows have already been dug out for them by rabbits and Manx shearwaters, which is our star bird on the island."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Thus the California grizzly joined the passenger pigeon, the most populous bird on earth, on the extinction list.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Accident investigators probing a Ryanair RYA -1.00%decrease; down pointing triangle plane that experienced engine failure while flying over Greece last month found bird remains inside an engine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I tip my head up toward the sky, watching that bird that’s singing to no one.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Adam Ringland of Copeland Island Bird Observatory which is based on Lighthouse Island said the puffins are thriving due to the environment.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

More recently, the company has restructured its marketing team, hiring Travis VanderZanden, founder of the e-scooter company Bird, as head of growth, VanderZanden wrote in a LinkedIn post Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

For Andrew Bird, from Melbourne, in Australia, it was a spot in an often over-booked pilates class - but his solution had unexpected consequences.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Bird communities at more extreme latitudes, where seasonal temperatures vary more sharply, tend to include species that evolve faster than those living closer to the equator.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Bird after bird swooped and splattered, and the RECO’s eyes were instantly caked in filth.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

As of mid-August, 373 West Nile virus-positive dead birds have been reported statewide, compared to 76 at the same point in 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

“I like hearing my birds sing,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The birds had previously been fed sardines for years, but the supply ended when the park's long-standing local supplier retired.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

"All the birds have gone to bed," he said, adding that a flock of seagulls and choughs had been feeding on flying ants shortly before they returned to the cliffs.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

We had cooked birds, tasting horribly of the sea, eaten their eggs, and Sean had dipped his hands into the bay every day until they began to heal.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Related Words

• fowl