bird
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.
a fowl or game bird.
Sports.
a shuttlecock.
Slang. a person, especially one having some peculiarity: He's a queer bird.
Informal. an aircraft, spacecraft, or guided missile.
Cooking. a thin piece of meat, poultry, or fish rolled around a stuffing and braised: veal birds.
Southern U.S. (in hunting) a bobwhite.
Chiefly British Slang. a girl or young woman.
Archaic. the young of any fowl.
the bird, Slang.
disapproval, as of a performance, by hissing, booing, etc.: He got the bird when he came out on stage.
scoffing or ridicule: He was trying to be serious, but we all gave him the bird.
an obscene gesture of contempt made by raising the middle finger.
to catch or shoot birds.
to bird-watch.
Idioms about bird
a little bird, Informal. a secret source of information: A little bird told me that today is your birthday.
bird in the hand, a thing possessed in fact as opposed to a thing about which one speculates: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.: Also bird in hand.
birds of a feather, people with interests, opinions, or backgrounds in common: Birds of a feather flock together.
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.
for the birds, Slang. useless or worthless; not to be taken seriously: Their opinions on art are for the birds. That pep rally is for the birds.
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.
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.
Origin of bird
1Other words from bird
- birdless, adjective
Words Nearby bird
Other definitions for Bird (2 of 2)
Larry, born 1956, U.S. basketball player.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bird in a sentence
During courtship and even while mating, the birds pull off a similar feat, mimicking the calls and wingbeat noises of many bird species at once, a new study shows.
A single male lyrebird can mimic the sound of an entire flock | Jake Buehler | February 25, 2021 | Science NewsThe results strongly suggest that naked mole-rats learn their chirp dialects, he says — much as do people, dolphins and some birds.
Unique dialects help naked mole-rats tell friends from foes | Jonathan Lambert | February 24, 2021 | Science News For StudentsDescended from birds, the three-eyed, feather-covered creatures lived on a frigid planet with a methane-based atmosphere and gravity 11 times stronger than that on Earth, which, according to 2951 documentation, was now a planet called “Terra.”
Both farms were put in isolation amid fears of the virus spreading to dogs, cats, cattle and even birds.
Mink farmers are skipping to the front of the vaccine line — for an important reason | Dan Simmons | February 19, 2021 | Washington PostMembers, who are grouped by their immediate neighborhoods, use the app to report bird sightings and alert others about missing pets.
D.C.’s 911 center saw a spike in suspicious-activity calls after Capitol riot | Fredrick Kunkle | February 19, 2021 | Washington Post
It would be like if after the 40th pipe in Flappy bird was a scarecrow.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art | Alec Kubas-Meyer | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhile the chicken today might be the least exotic bird one can think of, it was once a gift that wowed kings.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity | William O’Connor | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTExactly when the transition to modern domestic creature took place, for a bird that is wild to this day, is controversial.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity | William O’Connor | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMistletoes on mesquite trees in central Mexico have been linked to a greater abundance of tropical bird species.
He really believed that enumerating the bird population gave understanding.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFourteen genera, representing about 19 species, of Mallophaga are reported for 20 different species of bird hosts.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula | Erwin E. KlaasThe grass had a delightful fragrance, like new-mown hay, and was neatly wound around the tunnel, like the inside of a bird's-nest.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylMany of his bird neighbors,p. 31 for instance, liked the same things to eat that he did.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyAlthough the bird people didn't know it, he was anxious to reach his grandchildren.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyAnd then Jolly Robin would feel ashamed that he had even thought of being so cruel to an infant bird, even if he was a Cowbird.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
British Dictionary definitions for bird (1 of 2)
/ (bɜːd) /
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: Related adjectives: avian, ornithic
informal a person (usually preceded by a qualifying adjective, as in the phrases rare bird, odd bird, clever bird)
slang, mainly British a girl or young woman, esp one's girlfriend
slang prison or a term in prison (esp in the phrase do bird; shortened from birdlime, rhyming slang for time)
a bird in the hand something definite or certain
the bird has flown informal the person in question has fled or escaped
the birds and the bees euphemistic, or jocular sex and sexual reproduction
birds of a feather people with the same characteristics, ideas, interests, etc
get the bird informal
to be fired or dismissed
(esp of a public performer) to be hissed at, booed, or derided
give someone the bird informal to tell someone rudely to depart; scoff at; hiss
kill two birds with one stone to accomplish two things with one action
like a bird without resistance or difficulty
a little bird a (supposedly) unknown informant: a little bird told me it was your birthday
for the birds or strictly for the birds informal deserving of disdain or contempt; not important
Origin of bird
1Derived forms of bird
- birdlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Bird (2 of 2)
/ (bɜːd) /
nickname of (Charlie) Parker
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
Scientific definitions for bird
[ bûrd ]
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.
a closer look
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with bird
In addition to the idioms beginning with bird
- bird has flown, the
- bird in the hand
- bird of passage
- birds and the bees, the
- birds of a feather (flock together)
also see:
- 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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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