bird's-nest soup

Save This Word!

noun

a Chinese soup made from the mucilaginous lining of the nests of the Asiatic swift.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of bird's-nest soup

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby bird's-nest soup

bird's mouth, bird's nest, bird's-nest fern, bird's-nest fungus, bird's-nest orchid, bird's-nest soup, Birds of a feather flock together, birdsong, bird spider, bird strike, bird table

How to use bird's-nest soup in a sentence

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|DAILY BEAST
“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” Harry S. Connelly Jr. says in the video, according to the Times.
Are Police Stealing People’s Property?|Joan Blades, Matt Kibbe|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Personal hotspots can get speeds of up to 60 Mb/s down, whereas hotel Wi-Fi can be as slow as 1.5 Mb/s,” Sesar said.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was also the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, and the cookie diet.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In our headlong quest for a legally perfect society, we don’t take the time to take stock of what‘s been created so far.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fourteen genera, representing about 19 species, of Mallophaga are reported for 20 different species of bird hosts.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Almost as soon as she had finished building her nest she had discovered a strange-looking egg there.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
The 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. Carryl
Many of his bird neighbors,p. 31 for instance, liked the same things to eat that he did.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for bird's-nest soup

bird's-nest soup

noun

a rich spicy Chinese soup made from the outer part of the nests of SE Asian swifts of the genus Collocalia

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